Raised in the Light
by AngelSlayer135
Summary: What if Yhwach saw the potential in Ichigo when he was a child and decided on a different course of action for the war? "My son, born into darkness... you shall be raised in the light."
1. Shadows of the Past

**Raised in the Light**

Shadows of the Past

*As we begin my second full length Bleach story I can assure everyone that I do not own or make money on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

 _Vengeance_

It was the driving force, the only goal, the only _idea_ in his mind.

Vengeance against those who had betrayed him, those who had wronged him, those who had slaughtered his people. They would burn for their deceit, for the manipulations that they tried to bring onto the world.

They had nearly wiped out his descendants, his family.

But they had made a very costly mistake, one that would haunt them as he was ramming his sword through their throats.

They had failed to kill him.

Now he had time, if there was anything that he had abundant amounts of it was time at this point. He would plan his return. They had failed because although they had struck from the shadows without warning or mercy they had done so too quickly. They had deemed themselves and their plan to be flawless.

They were wrong, had they bided their time like he now did they would have undoubtedly been victorious but instead they had struck too early and without a proper plan.

If there was one thing Quincy excelled at, above all else, it was planning.

And now as Yhwach sat upon his exiled throne in a world beneath worlds he began to plan. Soon all would know exactly what happens when you strike an enemy and fail to deliver the killing blow.

 _***RitL***_

It had to be done, it was not a pleasant thing, raw slaughter, but it was something that had to be done at times.

Kill one save a thousand, kill a thousand save future millions.

It was the philosophy that the 'Gotei 13' had agreed upon. The thirteen original Shinigami, the Gods of Death themselves.

The Quincy had to be purged, had to be annihilated on a grand scale in order to preserve the future. They would not cooperate, would not yield, and would not negotiate in anyway with the Soul King.

Their hubris would be their undoing. They believed themselves to be untouchable; that none could, or would, stand against them.

How wrong they were.

Waves of fire roared forth, incinerating those who went about their daily routines. These would be the lucky ones, those who would never see their loved ones killed or feel themselves cut into pieces by the others.

Next came dozens of explosions, caused by the few _Kido_ masters that had been recruited. Entire buildings collapsed, taking hundreds of innocent, and not so innocent, lives along to the ground.

Finally came the most bloodthirsty of the Shinigami. Those who had truly earned their nickname in the number of souls they had taken.

They spilled rivers of blood, flooding the area and covering not only themselves but anyone in the area in the crimson liquid.

Their laughter, like that of a child stepping on an ant or a sadistic butcher cutting into an animal, rang out through the streets.

Moral was shattered, the few soldiers sent against them torn apart, and those who fled cut down without remorse.

But the worst atrocities were yet to come. Those who could not flee and instead tried to hide.

The elderly, women, children, and infants. All were eventually sliced into pieces by gleeful Shinigami.

None survived the massacre.

It was only days later, when Yhwach and his royal followers returned, that he bore witness to the senseless war that the Shinigami had started.

There had been no official declaration, no warnings, no negotiations that might have even hinted at what would occur.

The Soul King had demanded that the Quincy bow to him, to forsake their heritage and their powers and live at the mercy of Hollows and other foul creatures. To leave the official 'enforcement' of the spiritual world up to a handful of 'chosen few'.

But the Quincy were proud of their bloodline, proud of their past, and of their present. They refused to rely on others for protection when they could protect themselves. Now they burned for it.

After the search had begun for survivors the ambush occurred, just when they were at their weakest, at their most vulnerable.

His guard was slaughtered without effort.

Yhwach himself was caught in fierce combat with the general himself, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Before he could activate his true powers, to show this _monster_ exactly what he was capable of the man before him activated his trump card.

 _Zanka no Tachi_

The Quincy lord was defeated instantly, his body nearly destroyed in the resulting attack.

It was only due to his mastery over his blood powers that he managed to survive, dissolving whatever was left of himself into the life fluid and seeping down into the cracks of the earth to hide and recover.

He would not let these killers escape justice so easily.

 _***RitL***_

-One thousand years later-

Finally, his return was complete, all except for his powers. Now it was time to gather whatever survivors he could. His children would join together once more and destroy those who were responsible for the slaughter of their kind, those who deemed themselves unassailable.

Yet in the peace that followed they had become lazy and weak. Gone were the bloodthirsty murderers that had composed their former ranks.

Instead there was frailty and relaxation.

The Shinigami had fallen under the curtain that once cloaked the Quincy, a cloak of peace. While this promoted freedom and good will it did nothing to prepare them for the harsh realities of war. The war that had never truly ended.

The One Thousand Year Blood War.

 _***RitL***_

Masaki Kurosaki recognized the signs just like any Quincy would have. It was the call to return home, the signal that the Lord of the Quincy was seeking to return once more and wished to gather his forces. The call of family.

Yet she ignored it, defied it. She had a family here in the World of the Living. Here with her husband Isshin, her two newborn daughters Karin and Yuzu, and her young son Ichigo.

It was everything she had ever wanted and more, so why would she answer a call to prepare for war? Why would she give everything up just for some petty act of revenge?

She knew what would come next, and yet she couldn't bring herself to care. _Auswahlen_ would rip her powers from her body, remove what had been her birthright.

She knew but did not care. Only pure blooded Quincy could resist it and with the Hollow having tainted her soul she no longer could. But it didn't matter. She would gladly give up her heritage if it meant staying out of this war.

So when she felt her powers torn from her she paid it no mind. Though it was painful it wouldn't matter in the long run. The young housewife intended to live in peace.

The only thing that concerned her now was that the light had not fallen on her children. She knew that it wouldn't, despite what the Shinigami thought Yhwach was not a merciless sociopath. The technique refused to target children or anyone who could not knowingly make the choice to abandon their family when ordered to appear before his majesty.

Heck she probably could have kept her powers regardless, all she had to do was to arrive at the meeting place and come before her 'father'. But by doing so she would expose herself to the violence and zealotry that had always consumed their way of life.

She refused to be the puppet of the Quincy any longer.

 _***RitL***_

The eldest Quincy looked on as the _Auswahlen_ took place, tearing the powers from the Quincy who refused the call of their family.

It was a sad thing really, and something he had not wanted to enact but… they were at war and this meant that sacrifices had to be made.

Looking through the portal into the World of the Living he came across a very peculiar scene, a mother protecting a young orange haired boy from a vicious Hollow. Clearly she was a former Quincy but without her powers she would be no match against the creature and thus devoured. A pity really but he could not intervene and risk exposing his return so early.

That is until he felt a familiar stirring within the small child. A power resided in this boy that was different and yet so very familiar. Part Quincy, part Shinigami. A perfect union and yet… there was something else within his soul.

This child, should he survive, would undoubtedly grow to become a fearsome power for any faction he fought for.

The Shinigami could _not_ be allowed to turn him into their weapon. Yhwach would never stand by and let one of his children be abandoned to his enemies again.

 _***RitL***_

"M-mommy are you okay?"

The small child crawled out from beneath the woman after she hadn't acknowledged him.

"Mommy?"

The mysterious girl standing by the river was gone, leaving no evidence of her existence.

The boy gently touched the woman's face, trying to wake her up. They had to get home to Daddy and his sisters. She was getting soaked.

"Mommy wake up you need to wake up."

This time the young boy gently pushed on her shoulder, trying to wake his parent as he had done before when she 'pretended' to be sleeping on the weekend.

It was a favorite game of theirs.

Now though, her face made no signs of movement, there was no slight smile that threatened to consume her in laughter and joy. There was no twitch of her body at all.

"Please wake up mommy… please wake up…"

The woman would never open her eyes again.

 _***RitL***_

A father sat in the lobby of the local hospital, nervously wringing his hands.

He had received a call less than an hour prior, something had happened. No answer had been given when he had demanded answers, only that he needed to come down to the hospital immediately.

Luckily this was where one of his few friends worked, and he knew that at least the Quincy would give him some answers.

"Mr. Kurosaki?"

"Yes, yes right here."

The nurse nodded, a sad expression on her face. That was never a good sign.

"If you would come with me please… we need to speak with you in private."

Another bad sign.

Nodding the man hurried after the woman. Thankfully Urahara had been home and more than willing to look after his two young daughters.

That still left his son and wife unaccounted for, what if something had happened to one of them? What if something had happened to _both_ of them? How would he carry on if…

The door opened and Ryuken Ishida nodded towards the man.

"Nurse, leave us."

"Of course sir." The woman gave one last apologetic glance backwards before leaving for other duties.

"Ryuken what is going on? No one would tell me…"

"Sit... please."

The father of three took the chair that had been gestured to and stared back at the other man.

"Kurosaki… Isshin, there has been an accident… I am so sorry."

The white haired man before him forced himself to look away, blinking away the tears. The former Shinigami had never seen his stoic companion cry before.

Isshin's world fell apart.

 _***RitL***_

Ryuken could do nothing for the man seated before him. A man who openly wept for the loss of his wife and the disappearance of his son. A man who had lost half of his family.

The Quincy knew that Masaki had lost her powers, he had felt the same pull on his own but had waved it off with his right as a pure blood.

His wife had not been so lucky, and now lay sick with him and his own child.

If the same situation had been reversed… if his wife and son had been killed...

The white haired man was sure that the former Shinigami would be at his side, pledging his loyalty to hell and back to protect his friend's family. It was just the kind of man that Isshin Kurosaki was.

But now? What would the hospital director do to comfort the man he had come to see as one of his few true friends in this world?

 _Anything_

"Isshin, we are going to find Ichigo. I will do everything in my power to help you."

They both knew the truth, however. Although there had been no body and no spiritual remains of the orange haired boy there was very little doubt he had been devoured by the creature. Hollows might have a hard time completely eating an adult human but children… there was a very good reason that the Quincy hated the creatures as they did.

The sobbing man nodded, before choking out a grateful "thank you" and declaring him to be one of the truest friends he had ever made in his long life.

The declaration seemed to lift the other father's heart, knowing that he had a chance to truly help one of the important people in his life.

 _***RitL***_

A young Ichigo Kurosaki looked up at the older man standing before him. A man that seemed to carry himself in a way that the boy had never seen before. There was an elegance, a power to him.

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Y-yes?"

"I am sorry to tell you but you mother has died protecting you."

"N-N-N…"

The boy never got out the words, instead falling to his hands and knees as he began to openly sob.

 _Strange_

Yhwach hadn't felt this emotion in hundreds of years… an emotion that he had long since believed himself to have lost.

 _Sorrow_

He felt pity towards the boy, as if this one child wept not only for himself but for the tears that the elder Quincy himself could not shed. Tears for his people long dead, for being unable to protect them, for failing them.

Walking forward the older man wrapped his arm and cloak around the boy to shield him from the rain.

What he hadn't expected was for the boy to latch onto him in a fierce hug, as if trying to find something safe to hold on to now that his parent was gone.

Slowly and awkwardly the Quincy returned the hug.

"My son, born into darkness… you shall be raised in the light."

 _***Next Chapter Preview!***_

" _It is a Hollow. A monster that feeds on the innocent and those who cannot protect themselves. They are attracted to spiritual power and devour the souls of anyone they can. They are abominations that should be destroyed."_

 _Jugo turned to his brother, and best friend, a shocked expression on his face._

 _***Omake: What was his plan again? ***_

"Oh Captain Aiiiiiiiiiiizennnnnnnnnnn"

"Gin" the bespectacled man nodded in greeting, before going over some reports made by Tousen. At this point he always had the dark skinned man prepare his paperwork, if not then he would be forced to deal with Ichimaru and his crayon drawings.

"What're you up to?"

"Going over some various information on our experiments, do you have news Gin?"

"Oh I got news Captain Aizen, I got news for days"

The two other officer ranked men stopped and glanced up to the man, waiting for him to continue.

He did not

"And?" Tousen inquired, after a few minutes of silence.

"And what?"

"You said you had news"

"No I didn't"

"Yes you did…"

"Nope, nothing to report. Nadda, zilch, zero, nuthin, aint got crap."

"Ah we must have mishear…" The blind man began, while Aizen took a sip of his tea.

"Except for the fact that _Auswahlen_ has been activated and Masaki Kurosaki is dead."

The tea that was promptly spat all over the room.

"Gin…." The man growled dangerously, his fingers itching to unsheathe his _Zanpakuto_ and cut down his former Lieutenant.

"Oh relax I thought you said that you had planned all this out?"

"I planned… YES! of course I did, I have planned everything out! Silly Gin, questioning my plans."

"Yup silly me"

"So is that all then? No matter at least nothing happened to…"

"Also Ichigo Kurosaki is gone."

Once again Aizen spat out tea all over the room, though where it had come from Tousen couldn't quite figure out.

"What!? Oh this isn't good at all, ALL OF MY PLANS!"

"Uh what plans did you have with a small child exactly?" Gin questioned.

"I already told you that _everything_ resides around Ichigo Kurosaki. All of my plans and manipulations hinge around him!"

"But I thought they were focused on the _Hogyoku_? How exactly does Ichigo fit into that?" The silver haired man asked.

"Simple, simple Gin. My plans are so complex that you cannot even begin to fathom them."

"They wouldn't involve pushing him to become more and more powerful until he eventually transcends and encounters you in an epic battle for the sake of the world in Karakura town, where he ultimately defeats you in which you are then stuck in a chair until you two rally together in one final battle against the Quincy Lord… do they?"

"Uhmmmmm no?"

Tousen proceeded to take a small notebook entitled 'Aizen's awesome planz' from a nearby drawer.

"It looks as though you even autographed it Aizen-Sama…"

"Enough of this foolishness Tousen! Gin we will have to make other plans, and then plans upon those plans, and further plans based on the plans which were created for the first plans!"

"Of course Captain Aizen, AND IF I CANNOT AID YOU I SHALL RUN ONE HUNDRED LAPS AROUND THE SEIREITEI ON MY BIG TOE!"

The two other men stared at their ever grinning companion for a moment, before shaking off their confusion at one of Gins antics.

***A/N***

Ladies and Gentlemen it is good to be back! Chapter one of my second full length Bleach story: Raised in the Light started off with a bang and some much needed, but mostly neglected from the manga, background! If some of you have not figured it out yet this will be a 'Quincy Ichigo' story.

On a very serious note… holy crap have I missed writing for Gin. He is, and I'm being completely honest right now, the most fun character I have ever had the pleasure of using in a story. He can just troll the hell out of everyone and it still makes sense!

I have a pairing in mind already and no this will not be a 'harem' fic. Most of the Stern Ritter are going to be completely rebuilt because I found them utterly ridiculous in the manga.

Hopefully everyone enjoys the changes and the story itself… you are all in for one hell of a ride!


	2. A New Family

**Raised in the Light**

A New Family

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"But why can't I go back to my dad and sisters? They will be missing me. I have to protect…"

"Exactly, you have to protect them, but right now you can't. I can teach you how to protect everything you care about Ichigo. The monster that attacked your mother escaped and is still out there, possibly planning on hurting other people. There are people who are supposed to have stopped it and yet they did not."

"Wh-why didn't they save my mom?"

"Because Ichigo they are cruel. They feel like they have the right to choose who lives and who dies. They killed off my entire family because we wanted to protect ourselves and each other."

"But why!? Everyone should be allowed to protect their family!"

"I agree, Ichigo if you wish to go back I will take you personally… but these people will find you eventually. You are far more important than you realize and they will try to manipulate you to their own cause."

"Man-manip…"

"It means they want to trick you. I want you on my side as well but I will not lie about my intentions, my past, or anything else. I will never lie to you Ichigo."

The boy seemed to think over what the man said before slowly nodding, tears rolling down his face at the decision he had come to.

"I-I-I will stay… I want to become strong so I can protect everyone. I want to save everyone!"

"And I will help you do this Ichigo. Your life will not be an easy one here but the good you will do shall outweigh anything you could have done in your previous home."

 _***RitL***_

Two young boys stood mere feet from each other, both staring at each other.

One with light blonde

One with bright orange hair

Both looked unsure of themselves and the situation.

Yhwach stood at the side, he knew it was a bit early to be introducing his two 'sons' to each other but he wanted to ensure their friendship and companionship with each other. They would undoubtedly be the most powerful warriors in his army.

And the most important people in his family.

"My name is Ichigo! I used to have a last name but dad told me that I had to give it up when he rescued me."

"M-my name is Jugram."

The orange haired 'ball of sunshine' took on a contemplative expression for a moment, before his smile widened even further. "I'm just going to call you Jugo, do you want to be friends?"

The other boy gave his first true smile in many years as he quickly nodded his head yes.

 _***RitL***_

It was the first time Yhwach could ever recall being so shocked that he had forgotten to breathe.

For the boy seated at the table to have said such a thing… the Quincy lord could honestly say he never expected the boy to actually believe it, much less speak it out loud.

"Your majesty… are you alright?"

The blonde's question seemed to bring him back to the meal that was in front of him, as of yet untouched.

"Um, yes of course Jugo." The elder man confessed that he deeply enjoyed the nickname that Ichigo had given the blonde, and used it as often as possible. It was a sign of companionship, of family, and of trust between the three.

The only other time someone had attempted to call the young boy by the nickname was when a visiting nobleman had thought it was 'cute'.

What he hadn't anticipated was being crushed against the floor by the black haired ruler's spiritual power, a frown on his face at having someone _pretend_ to be close to one of his children.

But even with this closeness between the three of them… he had never expected Ichigo to call him 'dad'.

 _***RitL***_

"This is so unfair, how come he's better at _everything_ than me?"

"He is not better at _everything_ my son he simply possesses a different skill set than you do."

"Yeah and that skill set is being better at everything." The orange haired boy grumbled in annoyance.

Meanwhile his 'brother' looked on, a bit ashamed that he had surpassed his closest, and at this point only, friend in swordsmanship, archery, calligraphy, basic tactics, and spiritual control.

"I'm sorry…"

Ichigo looked up, a confused expression in his eyes, at the other youth.

"What are you apologizing for? You are awesome Jugo! I'm just jealous that you are so good at _everything_."

"I... can try and help you… if you want…"

The blonde was nearly tackled to the ground by the fierce hug that the orange haired boy engulfed him in.

 _***RitL***_

"Ichigo, come here my son."

"Yes father?"

To this day the use of that word warmed the Quincy elder's heart.

"I believe it is past time that you learn of your parentage."

The young teenager nodded, before taking a seat in front of the man.

"Your mother, Masaki, was a pure blood Quincy much like I am. Unfortunately she did not answer the call that was sent out when I returned to life. Thus her powers were removed. Due to a Hollow's influence before you were born she was unable to resist the technique. Later on it was a different Hollow that took her life and led you into my arms."

The boy nodded, his face downcast as he tried to hide his tears at the painful memory.

"Your father was a Shinigami Captain."

That brought a shocked gasp from his son, who stared straight into his eyes with his mouth slightly ajar.

"But… how?"

"People fall in love for the strangest reasons, when you find the one whom you will love it you will understand."

The boy nodded slowly, before his mind finally caught up with the conversation.

"You said 'was'."

"I did, he lost his Shinigami powers around the time that he met your mother to save her life. You must understand that if he had begun seeing her as he was then they would most likely have been executed by the Seireitei. As it is he is undoubtedly wanted for abandoning his command and would be considered a traitor by the other Shinigami."

"A traitor because he fell in love and saved someone's life at the cost of his own powers?"

"Yes"

"Much like what happened to my mother?"

Yhwach paused, knowing how important his answer would be. He figured that his son would eventually bring this point up and yet even still the confrontation was not pleasant.

"Your mother was not sentenced to death nor imprisoned for her actions. She abandoned her family for whatever reason and thus lost her right to call herself a Quincy. We must protect each other Ichigo, if we do not then we have no reason to call each other 'family'. Imagine if she had abandoned you when you had needed her the most. Not only refusing to help but simply refusing to even try. Would you still call her family and trust her?"

"I… would have protected her no matter what."

The older man smiled, "then you are a far wiser man now than I was when I chose that course of action.

 _***RitL***_

"Hi there, my name is Ichigo, what is your name?"

The young girl stared back at the orange haired boy in confusion.

"Uhmm... what?"

"Your name silly? What is your name?"

The young female had never been approached like this, she had been out shopping with her mother when this random boy just runs up to her and...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the boy laughing, not in a mocking way but rather in a carefree and almost... innocent way.

A warm feeling spread through the girl's chest, a feeling of hope and safety. It was if this boy could right all the wrongs in the world, and would gladly do so without even a thought of reward.

"Well maybe you just forgot it, here this reminds me of you because it is pretty." Ichigo proceeded to take a flower he had found nearby and gently put it into the girl's hair.

Laughing again he looked off and noticed his family making ready to move on.

"Well I hope you figure out your name!" With that he ran off, laughing the entire time.

"Who was that?"

Looking up she spotted her mother standing to her side, a warm smile on her face.

"His name is Ichigo... I just met him."

"Oh, seems like a nice boy."

The younger woman nodded, before walking away with her mother.

Glancing back she whispered to herself, as if the boy could hear her, "My name is Bambietta".

 _***RitL***_

"What… is this… thing?"

"It is a Hollow. A monster that feeds on the innocent and those who cannot protect themselves. They are attracted to spiritual power and devour the souls of anyone they can. They are abominations that should be destroyed."

Jugo turned to his brother, and best friend, a shocked expression on his face.

For once there was a deadly seriousness in the orange haired boy. A lethality that should not be present in such a young person. It was if he was trying to kill the creature with just his will.

"He is correct Jugo. I brought you both here because I wanted you to see one of our true enemies. This is our oldest opponent. The one who hunts us and who we in turn hunt. They have existed for as long as we have and due to this we were their original prey. Yet just as they seek to devour us we shall strike them down with our holy wrath. They are our opposites. Where we value family and friendship they value only power and their next meal. Where our society grows and evolves they have never developed one. Where we know compassion, love, and hope; they know only rage, hunger, and destruction."

"If they have existed with us since the beginning of humanity then how are either of us still alive? Shouldn't one have been destroyed by now?" The blonde questioned, staring up at his ruler and trying to avoid looking at the death glare that his brother still bore.

"They are far more numerous than you can imagine. They are the result of a soul that grows stagnant and refuses the pull of the afterlife, or those that are truly corrupt. Thus there will always be Hollows. We, however, are not eternal. But we are crafty and cunning. We know to fight with our intellect and use our strengths. Thus the battles between us have always been in our victory, yet even if we slay one hundred of them for everyone death of ours we shall end up losing."

"Then what can we do?"

"We fight, to the last. To the bitter end and beyond. We take as many of these monsters out with us as possible and protect those who cannot protect themselves. We save lives and preserve hope."

It was not Yhwach that had answered, but rather the orange haired boy. Moments later he formed his bow and fired an arrow through the chained beast's skull, dissolving it away into nothingness.

 _***RitL***_

"Brother… I have never seen you like that before… are you alright?"

"That was not my first encounter with a Hollow."

"I assumed, but what…"

"It was how I first met father. A Hollow attacked me when I was a child. My mother protected me but it ended up costing her soul to save my life."

The blonde stared with horror at his brother, whose eyes had already begun leaking tears down his face.

"I… I didn't not know. I am sorry."

"I-I-It's not your f-fault." Ichigo tried to calm himself, to dry his face but to no avail.

Seconds later he was pulled into a hug by the other boy, who was content to whispering comforting phrases to him until he managed to compose himself.

"I will help you brother… together we will find a way to protect everyone."

 _***RitL***_

"Father, we would like to discuss with you a few things."

The elder Quincy glanced up, a slightly surprised look on his face at the way that his son had just spoken to him. If it had been Jugo he would have understood, the boy was a bit too uptight and formal, but Ichigo was usually far more blunt and straightforward.

"Go on..."

"What the heck are your plans for when we get everyone back together?"

That was more like it.

Yhwach chuckled slightly before nodding.

"So you wish to know what my plans for the future are eh? For Hollows, Quincy, Shinigami, and humans?"

"Of course your majesty, we will undoubtedly be part of them will we not?"

For a moment the man pondered his next words. Originally he had intended to train both boys to become the powerful warriors that they were destined to be, to use them in the war against his enemies.

He had not expected to gain such fatherly affection towards them though. Now he was debating whether or not to simply keep them out of the war, to protect them as he would his own children. But they would never allow it. Ichigo was too headstrong and stubborn to stay out of any type of conflict, and Jugo would follow him to hell and back if need be. Plus the blonde's own loyalty would eventually push him into the war as well.

"My plans are simple. Step one is to rebuild our military forces in secret, then I recreate the 'Sternritter' and prepare them for war. After this we take stock of the two enemies we must defeat, Hollows and Shinigami. I plan to strike and defeat the weaker of the two and then once the threat of a two front war is gone we shall eliminate the other. My ultimate goal is to take the throne of the Soul King himself, and fix the problems that threaten to consume the various worlds."

The two boys nodded in contemplation.

"Alright, so what are our jobs in this?"

"You, my two sons, are to be my chief advisers, champions, and commanders. You two will be part of the 'War Potentials' that I foresee as being the main factor for victory in the upcoming conflict."

"We shall not let you down your majesty."

"Yeah dad relax, we got this. We will just start," the boy let out a deep sigh of reluctance before he continued on his statement "training even longer and harder every day."

The other two men smiled, knowing how the orange haired male enjoyed his free time.

 _***RitL***_

"Greetings your majesty! I am Lord Werner of Hesse. As I understand it you have made your intentions known to unite our great land into one once more."

"That is correct."

"If you succeed in this unification what do you intend to do next? Who will lead the reunited country?"

"I will lead us once more. The Quincy have been separated and isolated for too long. After the capital's destruction at the hands of the Shinigami you became isolated, and weak. Each state declared itself independent of the others and tried to force their own rule. This will end, we have enough enemies as is without trying to destroy our own flesh and blood."

"You believe that after abandoning us for nearly a thousand years you can just walk back in and declare yourself emperor? No one is going to follow your rule Yhwach, you will go down in history as a failed ruler who thought himself greater than anyone else, and was put down just as effectively as you were the first time. This land shall be ruled by none save for myself and the royal clan of Hesse!"

The Quincy lord chuckled, noticing in his peripheral that Ichigo had rolled his eyes and Jugo was fighting the urge to put an arrow through the man's head for his defiance.

"If that is your decision then so be it. Just know that all shall bow down before me."

"Then consider this our official declaration of war against you and your..." the man glanced over to where his two sons stood, "children. Perhaps when you are watching the executioner raise his axe to end them you will see the folly in your..."

Before he could finish his statement the bureaucrat found a hand wrapped tightly around his throat, and lifting him into the air.

Looking down his eyes widened in terror, there was a ferocity and power in the eyes of the Quincy king that sent a wave of fear down his spine. He instantly knew that he had crossed the line when threatening the man's children, and could only hope that his guards would reach him in time.

Unfortunately for him the warriors had been forced to the ground by Yhwach's raw power, dropping everyone in the room save for the man himself and his two sons.

"You have made several poor choices this day _Lord_ Werner. First you decided to declare war against me _while_ in my presence. Did you really think I would not immediately strike against you? Second you believed yourself safe from me because of a few pathetic soldiers. Finally, and most importantly, you threatened my family."

Power tore into the overweight man's body, consuming his blood and what little spiritual power he had before returning it to the Quincy ruler.

The dried out husk was dropped to the floor a second later, breaking into pieces upon doing so.

"That is the fate of the Quincy if we continue to fight amongst ourselves. We shall bleed each other dry and be left as nothing more than dust in the wind. Now I shall ask you 'royal guard' to this man a simple question. Will you continue serving this pathetic warmonger even in death? Or will you join me in my crusade to unite our lands and bring about a unified peace. A peaceful future where our children and grandchildren may live without worrying about Hollows or the Shinigami. A future in which we can protect ourselves and humanity as we swore to do so long ago?"

The prone men nodded, before muttering out their oaths of loyalty, being barely able to speak in the man's presence.

"Very good, now then send a messenger back to the state of Hesse and inform their council of what has transpired. I will ignore the threats made against me and my family if they shall agree to be incorporated into the new kingdom without resilience."

The men nodded, before slowly standing and making towards their duties.

 _***RitL***_

Two teenage boys sat on two separate tree branches.

Separate and yet of the same tree, of the same blood.

"You know his majesty can only choose one of us…"

"Hm?"

"To be his successor. Only one of us can take over when he is gone."

Ichigo nodded slightly, musing over the idea as he looked up into the clear blue sky.

"At least it will not be hard for him, you are the obvious choice." The orange haired boy finally spoke up, breaking the silence.

Jugo looked back at his friend, more of a brother at this point, with a shocked gaze, "How can you even assume that? You are far more…"

"Talented? We both know you trump me in every Quincy art available. Intelligent? You surpass me in that with leaps and bounds. Face it Jugo you are the one he is going to choose… and I think you are the best candidate. I would gladly serve under your rule."

"You are wrong Ichigo… despite all of my strengths you have a natural charisma and leadership to you that draws others in. People will flock to you in time and follow your every request like it is a command. Besides superiority today does not guarantee supremacy tomorrow."

"You use words of wisdom like that and you _still_ think that I am the better choice?" Ichigo laughed, a pure and innocent gesture that seemed to ring out through the open area, and warm the blonde's heart.

'No my brother…' The silent boy pondered, 'you are the obvious one who will ascend. And when that day comes I will gladly follow you wherever you may go. Just as I always have.'

 _***Next Chapter Preview!***_

" _Well well well what do we have here? King finally grew some balls and stopped running away eh?"_

" _I assume you are the Hollow filth that was implanted into my soul, which would make you..."_

" _The representation of your Quincy abilities."_

 _***Omake: Under Arrest, Part 1***_

"Surely this is a mistake, or a joke?"

"I am sorry Aizen-Sama but it is no joke."

"But... I don't understand..."

"It is really quite simple, evidence was found implicating you in inappropriate acts towards children."

"I have never done such things! To accuse me of such is..."

"It was published in your book 'Aizen's awesome planz, revised'."

"I don't know any evidence that you could possibly be talking abou..."

"The first chapter begins with, 'Now that the seven year old is gone my plans will need to be escalated, thankfully I can afford to wait until his two girls are five to begin using them instead'."

"That could mean anything! I was referring to... uh..."

"Dog fighting"

"Yes just like Gin said I was... wait no I wasn't!"

The group of Shinigami enforcers looked on questioningly towards the three men before them.

"Regardless this is not the only disturbing pieces of information in your book Aizen-Sama, as we said this was only the first sentence."

Another Shinigami moved forward, and immediately placed hand cuffs around the offending man.

"Tousen prepare my legal defense plan, Gin I need you to..."

"WORRY NOT CAPTAIN AIZEN! I SHALL UNDERTAKE THE GRAND QUEST OF DEFENDING YOU IN COURT! AND KANAME SHALL BE MY FAITHFUL ASSISTANT!"

"What? NO! Gin you are to..."

Before he could relay any more orders the Captain was thrown into a nearby police van.

"Gin perhaps I should be in charge of..."

"Getting the refreshments! I agree Kaname-chan! I need all of my strength and cunning for Aizen-kun's defense! Gin, away!" With that the silver haired Captain leapt off; jumping first onto a nearby wall, and then the roof before disappearing into the sunset, laughing the entire way.

"How exactly am I supposed to get him refreshments if I can't find him..." the blind man muttered before making his way towards the nearest 'SoulBucks' coffee house.

***A/N***

So the chapters have been a bit shorter than I originally intended but I feel as though I got what I wanted into them. I didn't want to make just one ridiculously long chapter and I rather enjoy where they left off to be continued onto the next.

As many of you have probably noticed I have begun added 'Chapter Previews'. This is something I recall seeing in another story and I wanted to give it a shot and see what the effect would be. If I can ever remember which fanfic I saw them in I shall post and give credit to the idea but as of right now... I got nothin.

Before this story continues any further I believe a warning is needed: **I fully intend to change and edit the ever loving hell out of the Sternritter**. Meaning that all those stupid 'plot based' powers are gone. I intend to rework nearly all of them from the ground up.

This means no more stupid "oh that Quincy is a giant hand... and that one is a... robot?" also all of those "this one is invincible except for that _one_ Shinigami power who just happened to be facing him" things are going to be changed to less annoyingly stupid powers. So for all of you who were all about "The Miracle" or thought the fact that the pro wrestler only died because he killed his own invulnerability shield was the coolest plot twist ever... sorry but all that is gone.

Hope everyone enjoyed!


	3. Purification

**Raised in the Light**

Purification

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"Again"

Ichigo growled in annoyance, before pulling back the strings on his _Heilig Bogen_ and firing another _Heilig Pfeil_ at the target.

It _just_ missed center mass as the arrow also failed to pierce through the structure.

"Again"

The boy nodded before firing another shot, and missed by the slightest amount once more, and once more failing to do any real damage.

"DAMNIT!"

"Calm yourself my son, you will not win any battles by allowing yourself to get worked up by failure."

"I should be able to do this by now! Jugo has been hitting his targets perfectly for months now, not only that he utterly destroys them."

"You are not Jugo."

"So I noticed..." The boy grumbled in a pouting tone before glaring back at his newest challenge.

"Relax yourself and your mind Ichigo, you are a Quincy first and foremost so you should not be so easily antagonized by such a task."

"Yeah I know, I know..."

"Is something troubling you?"

"No... it's just... no don't worry about it."

"My son, if something is worrying you I want you to know that you can trust myself or Jugo to help..."

"I have been... having nightmares."

"Nightmares?" the blonde inquired, as he walked into the training area to greet his brother and father.

"Yeah... for a while now."

"Why did you not say anything before now?"

"Not exactly a conversation I feel comfortable with 'hey Jugo did you know I have been having freaky nightmares lately? Yeah it has been messing with my head, maybe I should go whine to dad about it too? I am sure he has tons of free time to deal with my stupid problems along with running and uniting a kingdom, dealing with the prospects of several wars, and developing his own abilities as well as yours.' Yeah because that is such a great way to put it." The orange haired boy snapped back, before apologizing for his outburst a moment later.

"What exactly happens in your dreams?" Yhwach questioned, suddenly very curious about the topic.

"Uh, well I am falling through this city with all these skyscrapers around me, then there is a white version of me but darker and this guy in all black that looks kinda like a younger version of you dad. The two start arguing and yelling out to me and then I hit the ground and wake up."

The younger Quincy looked rather concerned while the elder merely seemed to be contemplating something.

"It appears that your powers have begun awakening in earnest. I did not think it would occur like this but regardless it is time that we dealt with this predicament."

"Wh-what do you mean my powers are awakening? Will Jugo have to go through something like this as well? Is this like Quincy puberty or something?"

The older man was caught between a laugh and a cringe at having to recall giving his sons 'the talk' when they reached that age. Needless to say it had been very uncomfortable for everyone involved.

"No Jugo will not need to deal with this particular issue. It is something that you and you alone will face. You see because of your duel heritage and your past you have three sets of powers engraved into your soul. You have the Quincy powers from your mother, the Hollow from Aizen's meddling, and the Shinigami powers from your father."

The boy nodded, his father having explained to both boys exactly what had occurred to the boy years ago.

"It appears as though all three forces are currently vying for control and supremacy in you. That may very well explain why your own development has been hindered to this degree. Rather than having one source that you need to control you are attempting to draw from three without realizing it."

Ichigo gave an irritated sigh at his father's explanation, "So what does this mean exactly? I need to train three times as much and my powers are going to be all over the place? How the hell am I supposed to train as a Shinigami? This is all ignoring that fact that I _refuse_ to draw on that... thing..."

"As you should, I am suggesting something a bit more extreme. We will be forcing your Quincy powers to take dominance over the others by sheer will, this should not only fix the current issue with your powers but help your dreams as well."

Ichigo nodded at his father's idea before looking out at the training field in quiet pondering. "So what do I need to do?" He finally inquired after a few moments.

"Next time you have the nightmares, do not fight them. Rather take control and figure out _exactly_ what the situation is and resolve it."

 _***RitL***_

"Well well well what do we have here? King finally grew some balls and stopped running away eh?"

"I assume you are the Hollow filth that was implanted into my soul, which would make you..."

"The representation of your Quincy abilities."

"Makes sense, you do sort of look like my father after all."

"Well I should, I am what he looked like one thousand years ago."

"Really? Huh I will have to suggest that he go back to the long hair and glasses look, makes you seem more bad ass."

Elsewhere the _real_ Yhwach developed an eye twitch for an unknown reason.

"Wait so where is the Shinigami portion? There should be three of you here right?"

"Normally that is correct Ichigo," The black haired man commented, before earning a snort from the pale creature, "But for some odd reason the Shinigami and the Hollow portions of your soul fused together."

"Well I suppose that makes things a bit easier then huh? Just makes the two of them seem even more annoying and undesirable."

"EXCUSE ME ASSHOLE!? WHO ARE YOU CALLING _UNDESIRABLE_? I bet you twenty bucks I could get _all_ the ladies if I was out there." the doppelganger shouted in annoyance.

"Yeah he is definitely expendable. So how does this work exactly? Do I get weaker if we get rid of him or do you like eat him or something?"

"Are... are you ignoring me? ARE YOU IGNORING ME YOU ASSHAT!?"

"Well normally by denying part of your soul you would cut off a large portion of your powers and abilities. In this case it would be _Kido,_ any possibility of a _Zanpakuto_ , all Hollow abilities and transformations, and _Shunpo_. Not only this but all of the strength that came with those would be removed as well. The good news is that because of your pure blood heritage you are able to counteract this and thus you will only lose those mentioned abilities. It is still quite a loss though so I would suggest you think carefully about..."

"YEAH WHO WANTS THAT LAME ASS QUINCY BULLSHIT WHEN YOU GOT ALL THESE COOL POWERS INSTEAD? Think about it King... _Cero, Bala, Shikai, Bankai, Shunpo..._ plus I am way hotter than that creepy old man."

"Well there is no way I am ever going to just _acquire_ a _Zanpakuto_ unless I steal one... and I refuse to stoop to that level. _Shunpo_ is inferior to _Hirenkyaku_ and there isn't anyone to teach me _Kido_. As for the Hollow powers... well I think you know where I stand on that."

"Indeed I do Ichigo, very well then if this is your choice then I shall support you in any way I possibly can. You noticed that your father has the ability to absorb the powers of another Quincy?"

"I have seen him use that a few times yes."

The older spirit nodded, "Normally Quincy can only do that to others of their kind since they are all linked. Fortunately, because we are both representations of your powers I should be able to do the same thing with your Hollow and Shinigami self."

"The hell you are! If you think that I am just going to sit back and..."

The pale white Ichigo was interrupted by the original flashing in front of him and slamming his fist into the creature's stomach, shocking him for a moment.

Just as the Hollow-Shinigami hybrid drew his sword to retaliate he realized that the Quincy spirit had vanished from his sight. A split second later a hand ripped through his chest, and the younger Yhwach began to absorb the figure into himself.

"Y-you won't win this easily y-you bastards! You are g-going to regret..."

Then the man was gone, his soul and powers ripped into the Quincy part of the young boy.

"No... I don't I will." The orange haired boy stated with conviction, already feeling his soul being cleansed of the tainted influence, and new power rushing through him to compensate.

"It will take some time for your full power to awaken. It must be this way so that you are not overwhelmed all at once."

"I understand; how long do you predict?"

The glasses wearing man pondered for a moment before answering, "I suspect it will be around a week at most. During that time I would highly recommend resting and not using any spiritual abilities."

"A week without training? However, will I survive?" The boy noted sarcastically, while the spirit just rolled his eyes.

 _***RitL***_

Ichigo's 'vacation' was not quite as he had planned it.

Taking the spirit's advice, the real Yhwach had indeed ordered him not to engage in any type of spiritual training, and gave his brother a break as well.

Instead they would both be doing nothing but academic training for the week. Thus their days were spent in the library, reading up on everything from military strategies to diplomacy.

More than once Ichigo was forced to act like he didn't notice the glares that the blonde was sending him for being brought in on his 'training' as well.

Finally, the time came and the three men walked out onto the training field once more.

"So my sons, how was your week?"

The older man was forced to turn away slightly, to hide his smirk from the two boys.

"Oh it was excellent father. You know how much I love spending ten hours a day reading about spiritual theory, old battles, and diplomatic acts that took place over a thousand years ago. It is all just so very exciting."

"Ah yes I can imagine it was. Well then let this be a lesson to you."

Ichigo began sputtering and stuttering out a rebuttal, "L-l-lesson!? FOR WHAT!? I'm sorry that I had some freaky ass half monster half Shinigami stuck inside my soul, maybe next time I can just time travel from the future and kick the guy in the nuts before it happens?"

Again Yhwach hid his smirk.

"Actually I was referring to you thinking that you could just 'take it easy' and 'relax' for a week just because you weren't allowed to be actively training. We must always seek to improve ourselves my son. Especially since one of you will inherit the kingdom when I am gone."

"Well thank goodness it is going to be Jugo who takes that role and not me. If it involves studying and training all day, every day then you can just give him the crown now."

"The idea of ordering you around is quite tempting brother..." The blonde mused, hiding a slight smile of his own.

"My family ganging up on me..." Ichigo muttered out before letting out a deep sigh.

"Before we begin, you will need this my son."

The orange haired boy glanced over to the older man, and noticed a small piece of silver in his hand.

"A new cross? I already have one though."

"True, but with the change in your powers I have little doubt that your cross will need to be completely reformed as well.

Ichigo nodded, and reached out to take the offered object. It wasn't that he wanted to get rid of the original he had made, and in fact he was going to keep it regardless, it was just that he knew that sentimentality had no place in war.

And they were at war.

Focusing his spiritual power through the piece of metal Ichigo watched the process, once more openly awed by how the substance changed and molded due to his own energy.

Moments later the former block was in a new shape, a pentagram with a three dimensional, five-point star inside.

It was beautiful.

"Interesting, I have not seen a Quincy cross like that in some time. Well let us see how well you can handle your new found powers."

Yhwach gestured towards the target that lay roughly one hundred feet away.

This time when the boy formed his bow there was no struggle, no awkwardness, no forcing the powering to take the shape he desired like all of the previous times.

It came naturally, like walking or breathing.

His bow had been completely reshaped as well... if it even could be called a bow at this point.

Before it looked more like blue energy or fire, wavering in the wind as he had struggled to consciously maintain it.

Now though, it appeared as a physical sword of the oddest shape. The handle itself looked like one from a _Seele Schneider_ only far more intricate. This lead in a larger base which with a half circle around the top. From this originated the actual blade, a long thin piece of metal at the end of which a large axe-like square surrounded it*.

Truly it was a formidable and terrifying looking weapon.

The Quincy lord let out an internal sigh. He knew that Jugo favored his long sword above the bow for normal combat, feeling that it was a good compensation for the normally bow oriented Quincy. He also felt it gave him more control over his attack and defense.

The aged man had secretly hoped that Ichigo, at least, would abide by the Quincy tradition and favor a bow above all else though.

But with his mixed heritage the original Quincy supposed he could not blame the materialization of his weapon looking like this.

"Well it appears as though you will follow Jugo in..."

Before he could finish the blade of the sword split in two, folding back to form what appeared to be a bow-like shape. Strings of white energy connecting the two ends back to the center formed a moment later.

From the center Ichigo formed a solid arrow from the energy surrounding them and fired it without pause or hesitation.

It obviously hit the target dead center.

That is, it would have been obvious... had the target _survived_ the projectile.

Instead the entire object had been blown into nothingness, with the energy continuing on to destroy most of the tree located some distance behind and burning a large hole in another behind that.

It was a frightfully powerful blast.

"Ichigo that was... incredible! Even my _Heilig Pfeil_ do not come close to that power."

"Indeed my son, your accuracy and power seem to have corrected themselves quite well. Now we simply need to work a bit on your control and..." The man paused, before glancing over at his son.

Ichigo himself was oddly quiet, looking over the weapon with an oddly contemplative expression.

"Is something wrong brother?"

"This is the first time..."

"First time?"

"That I truly feel like a Quincy. That I do not feel like I am holding either of you back. That I feel worthy of being your brother or your son, father."

"Ichigo, even if you could not perform any Quincy abilities at all. Even if you had no skill in diplomacy or war I would still consider you my brother. This event changes nothing in my mind save for that I feel safe knowing you can protect yourself."

"He is correct my son. Both of you are my children and nothing will ever change that. Though I must say Ichigo... that is the weapon of a king if ever I have seen one."

"Jugo is still the better choice."

It was not said with sarcasm, nor with humor. There was no jealousy in his voice or uncertainty. It was a simple statement, but it was said with such underlying conviction that for an instance Yhwach considered declaring it to be true.

 _***RitL***_

"Dad is mom going to be okay?"

The older man glanced towards his younger daughter, a look of sympathy and sadness in his eyes.

"I am not sure sweetheart. Your mother is very sick and without the money to buy medicine..."

"Then we need to go get some!"

"It isn't that simple. I have been trying to work more and save up but... it has been hard with trying to take care of both of you as well."

"I don't _need_ you to take care of me dad! I can handle things at home!"

The father smiled and nodded.

"Okay, just try and take it easy. Your mother wouldn't want you to work so much that you get sick too."

"I won't dad! Just you wait everything will work out."

"I know it will Bambi."

What none of the three family members knew was that a day later there would be an accident in the mine where he worked.

He would never return to his home, or fulfill his promise to his wife and daughter.

The older woman would become worse in the days to come, and pass on from the disease she had contracted.

The last words to her daughter would be "Live my precious little girl, live your life under your own terms. Never hold anything back and never have any regrets."

It was only later, when she saw the decadence of the nobles and their 'palaces' that Bambietta began to truly despise those with wealth and power.

 _***RitL***_

Two blades clashed in the large, empty, hall.

The sound of metal on metal rang out again and again. Each time with slightly more ferocity than before.

The two duelists began to enjoy their battle, putting more and more power into each blow.

Jugo ducked under a powerful high swing from Ichigo, before thrusting forward with his own blade.

The orange haired boy dodged to the side, flowing with his own strike and regaining his footing before counterattacking, and being parried at the last moment.

As the two locked blades Ichigo began to overpower the blonde ever so slightly, before his opponent pushed forward with a massive surge of strength, completely throwing him off balance.

A kick to the chest sent the orange haired boy sprawling across the floor, where he recovered just in time to avoid a follow up strike.

This time he went for an underhanded slash, rising up to try and catch Jugo at unawares.

It failed, and the blonde was able to dodge to the side, follow up with an elbow to the other boy's face, and position his sword at his throat.

"This spar goes to me, brother."

"Yeah yeah nice job as always Jugo, even if you did cheat a bit."

"I fail to see where I 'cheated'."

"As do I my son." Yhwach declared as he strode into the room.

"He used _Blut_ during our struggle." the orange haired boy countered, a slight whine in his voice.

"I did not recall any restrictions being placed on your spar."

"Yeah well... it's still cheating..."

"If you wish to have a rematch I shall endeavor not to call upon the ability brother."

Ichigo let out a deep sigh, knowing full well how his brother thought and wanted to be fair to everyone.

"No, no it's fine. I'm just a bit jealous that you can use it so easily while I can barely get the basics down even after my powers awakened."

"As I mentioned before it is undoubtedly due to your blood heritage. Your spirit may be that of a Quincy but you still have Soul Reaper blood in your veins, thus making the _Blut_ techniques far more difficult for you."

"Yeah dad I know but still..."

"You could have used archery; I would not be upset if you did. I do not understand why you insist on restricting yourself to melee against me."

"That's because I won't get any better at close combat if I only rely on my bow. You are obviously the better swordsman so it would only make sense that if I want to improve I focus just on that as well."

Both of the other men smiled at the orange haired boy's logic. Most others would have simply given up and stuck to their strengths by this point but Ichigo was entirely different. He focused on his shortcomings, trying to improve them rather than avoid them.

"Well regardless of the outcome it was a good duel from what I saw. How are your skills in the other arts?"

"Jugo is still better at _Hirenkyaku_ and at all of the techniques requiring incantation or setup. Of course he is better at planning things out and thinking ahead so that is probably why. The only thing I have over him at this point is ranged combat and _Ransotengai_."

"Oh? I was not aware that you had begun working with the _Reiryoku_ strings. Might I inquire as to why?"

"I end up getting hit a lot more than he does so I figure I would end up getting injured and need a backup plan." The orange haired boy deadpanned.

"Not necessarily the best approach, I would prefer you focus on _not_ getting hurt in the first place."

"I said the same thing to him your majesty..."

"Yeah yeah I know but still... plus it is kind of fun seeing what else I can do with it. Call me lazy if you want but pulling objects across the room without effort is pretty fun."

This statement started the Quincy lord for a moment. He had known about the technique, and its normal use of allowing Quincy to fight past their prime, but he had never heard of it being used on anything save the wielder themselves. It was a rather ingenious idea that could potentially open up a world of possibilities and strategies for generations to come.

"An impressive talent, it sounds as if both of you are developing quite well in your combat training. Which is why I want the two of you to undertake a mission for me."

This immediately caught the attention of both boys, who kneeled respectfully before the man.

"We are yours to command your majesty."

"What is your will, father?"

"I am preparing to rebuild the ranks of the Sternritter while in the negotiations with the various nations that were formed after our original downfall. I am sending you two on a mission to begin this recruitment. You are to depart immediately."

"It shall be done." the boys responded as one, before standing and leaving to gather what they would need.

"Soon revenge will be ours, but I have been patient for over a thousand years now... what is a few more for the cost of ultimate victory?" the man mused.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _The Sternritter were nearly replenished, thanks to his two sons. All of the recruits had given favorable responses to joining the force, which meant that they only needed about three more to complete their ranks._

 _After that they could take time to replenish, and then begin their observations of the surface worlds in earnest._

 _The only question at that point would be where his blade would fall first._

 _***Omake: Under Arrest, Part 2***_

"Ssssssso what are you in for?"

"Plotting a glorious and intricate plan of vengeance and Godhood around a preteen boy."

"Ah a noble causssssse if ever there wassssss one." the pale man declared to his cellmate.

"And you good sir?"

"I wassssss arressssssted for trying to take over the body of a preteen assssss well. But to be fair I really just wanted hissssss eyesssssss."

"Ah, my name is Aizen Sosuke by the way, and you are?"

"Orochimaru of the sssssssanin."

"A pleasure to meet you. So did one of your associates offer to take up your defense as well?"

"Unfortunately no, my apprenticessssssss are a ssssssskantily clad woman and a grave robber."

"Ah, mine are a blind zealot and a creepy silver haired man."

"Tough break for both of ussssssssss."

"Or... perhaps not..."

Both men developed devious looking grins on their faces at that declaration, as they began to discuss their future court hearings.

***A/N***

For anyone trying to picture the weapon... I suck at descriptions and I am sorry. If you want to see what I based it on though just "google" the phrase "Final Fantasy XIII Azrael" it is the exact same as that weapon... which I found to look incredibly awesome and... "Kingly"

Next chapter will begin the recruitment for my 'new' Sternritter and a few other minor details. I actually have found that this story is moving on faster than I originally anticipated. I am still shooting for over 20 chapters but I feel like I am going to be forced to draw out the actual war a bit more than intended, which I am sure everyone is just so very upset about.

As always I hope everyone enjoyed!


	4. The Call to Serve

**Raised in the Light**

The Call to Serve

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"So Jugo... any idea where we are supposed to find these 'recruits'?"

"His majesty did not say so I would imagine they can be taken from any location we can find them at. All we are supposed to do is to locate and bring them back to the palace for the ceremony."

"Yeah I understand that but... I mean do you really think this is the best time to be doing this? Father is currently in control of several of the 'states' that once composed the empire but there are at least three to four more that are actively opposing him. Obviously they stand no chance but it is going to be rather difficult to convince members of an enemy nation to join our newly formed force."

"A valid point, but it does not matter. I believe part of this mission is to remove us from the palace while his majesty conducts the necessary preparations to unite the lands. He does not wish us to be a part of the conflict that will undoubtedly take Quincy lives."

"That does sound like him, overprotective to the extreme. How does he expect us to be ready to fight two other wars if he doesn't even want us to see what it takes to fight a minor one?"

"It matters not, this is an important task regardless of any other ulterior motives. The Sternritter must be reformed if we are to triumph over the Hollows and the Shinigami."

"I know, how about we plot a course on the map to hit all the major cities. We arrive, check around for any powerful candidates, and take action from there."

"A wise plan, we should travel as discreetly as possible though. There is no reason to alert any potential enemies of our plans or of our presence."

Ichigo nodded before pulling out a map of the region and going over it with the blonde.

 _***RitL***_

The aged leader let out a deep sigh. It wasn't as though he didn't trust his sons, far from it in fact, it was just that he didn't want them to be involved in the taking of lives so early on. They would undoubtedly be forced to kill during the future war so why rush into the act?

Why force them take the lives of their own kinsman?

But it was more than that.

Yhwach was a selfish man at heart. He wanted to remain as their trusted father figure for as long as possible, and he knew that if they saw what he could do, what he _would_ do... they would never look at him in the same way again.

He had seen the change before with his former companions, when they beheld the cruelties he could inflict for the 'greater good of the Quincy' they drifted away from him. It was a normal reaction and the man did not blame them in the slightest.

Who could trust someone willing to level entire villages in order to quell uprisings or destroy rebellions before they could escalate?

That was one of the reasons he sent his two sons off, as far from the conflict as possible. He did not want them involved in this bloodshed, this war that was not just against a military force or a race of monsters but against others like themselves.

The second purpose was get them experience acting on their own, without his guidance. Someday he would not be there to help them. Thus they needed to learn independence and how to formulate and execute plans with just a basic goal in mind.

Would they succeed? Yhwach wasn't entirely sure. He knew that they would be safe with each other but to assemble the new Sternritter by themselves without any direction was quite the undertaking even for them.

Regardless they would learn their strengths, and weaknesses, from this in a way that they could not by simply training and sparing.

More importantly they would be reintroduced to the world that they would someday rule over.

 _***RitL***_

"Are you sure this is the place Jugo?"

"Quite sure, you are aware of how finely tuned my sense are correct?"

"Yeah yeah I know, yet another thing you surpass me in... still though it just seems a bit..."

"Aren't you the one who pioneered the idea of 'don't judge a book by it's cover'?"

"Yes I am all about that but still. This book looks pretty darn crappy."

The two teens stood outside of a rundown inn located in one of the poorer districts of their targeted city. Weeds grew out from half dirt half gravel road. Graffiti covered nearby buildings, houses were falling apart, and shady characters could be found in nearly every alley.

It was certainly not the type of place Ichigo expected to find a high spiritually powered individual.

"Well lead on I suppose."

With a nod the blonde drew his cloak closer around him, covering his face and head as much as possible, before entering the building slightly ahead of his companion.

The interior of the building was nearly as disastrous as the exterior. Dirt, dust, and smoke choked the air to the point of nearly limiting visibility.

Criminals, ruffians, and gang members took up spots in the dark corners of the room, speaking quietly to each other about potential targets and crimes to be carried out under the cover of the oncoming darkness.

Yet one person stood out above everyone else.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME ASSHOLE? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?"

"Yeah your some sissy boy with a red mohawk. Who the hell are you trying to impress anyway?"

"Oh now you did it, I _was_ just going to let you go with a warning and maybe a broken arm but now you have gone and insulted my pride and joy." With that the younger man leapt towards the far older, and larger, individual thus tackling him to the ground.

This, of course, immediately started a massive bar room brawl in which bottles were smashed over heads and chairs began being thrown through the air.

Ichigo and Jugo simply took it all in stride, walking calmly through the ensuing chaos and taking seats at the ruined bar.

"Please tell me it isn't the redhead." the orange haired boy nearly pleaded, while tilting his head slightly to the side to avoid a bottle thrown across the room.

"Of course it is."

He let out a deep sigh; his brother was right, _of course_ it was the easily offended jackass who started a fight that was going to be there target. If it had been anyone else the situation would have been far too convenient and easy for them.

"So what do you purpose we do now?"

"How the hell should I know? You are the calm collected and planner of us."

"True" the blonde noted with a slight nod, "But you are the improviser and charisma. If anyone is able to convince him to give up his ways and join our holy crusade it would be you. Besides I feel as though you are far more comfortable with this type of environment."

Jugo, and his companion, proceeded to lift up their drinks a moment later, saving them from being broken by the body that was thrown down the bar and slid towards them.

"Ouch Jugo, I will have you know that I am a gentleman, scholar, and an appreciator of fine wine. I would never associate myself with such scoundrels." Ichigo had made his claim loud enough that the room had quieted and now focused their renewed annoyance on the two men.

" _Excuse me?_ I don't think I heard you right pal? What did you just say?" One of the patrons barked out, as he approached the two seated teens.

"You are excused, but I do believe you heard me quite fine or you would not have made such a claim." Ichigo noted back, with an tone of supremacy over the man.

"Why you little son of a..." The older criminal picked the orange haired boy up by his cloak, drawing him off of his seat to spit directly into his face. That is until his intended target reached out and broke the man's forearm without effort, dropping his attacker to the floor as he cried out in pain.

"I will have to ask you not to touch me, I would not want to catch whatever _filth_ you have on you. Come Jugo let us leave this forsaken place, it is obvious that you were mistaken and that there is no one of value here."

The blonde nodded slowly, before paying and following his companion out the door.

They barely made it ten feet before they were called out to.

"Hey wait a second! The rest of those losers might be worthless but I sure as hell am not!"

The pair turned around just as the red haired man ran up to them.

Ichigo hid his grin, Jugo wasn't the only one who could create and execute a plan.

 _***RitL***_

"Hello there miss… have we met before?" Ichigo inquired, as the two boys approached the lone occupant of the darkened street.

It felt like déjà vu but he couldn't quite place the beautiful face standing before him. Of course it didn't help much that she was currently snarling at him as well.

"If you think you and your pasty ass friend are going to chat me up and get me into bed you are sorely mistaken creep."

Both boys sweat dropped at the girl's response.

"I can assure you madam we do not mean to…"

"Madam? How old do you think I am jackass?"

This time Jugo wisely chose silence, he had no doubt they could take the girl if need be but… he had heard enough horror stories about being the target of a female's wrath.

"That's just how Jugo talks, ignore him." the orange haired boy chose to follow his own suggestion, ignoring the glare that the blonde had sent his way. "We are not here to seduce you; we are here to make you an offer of sorts."

"Do you think I am a prostitute?"

"O-o-of course not! It's not that kind of deal! We are currently recruiting those with high 'potential' to join a very exclusive club. Our father wishes to keep quiet about it for a while longer but rest assured that if you agree you would be treated like royalty in the coming yea…"

Ichigo was never able to finish his statement before he found himself slammed up against a wall, and a pair of fiery eyes staring into his own.

"Listen here freak, I don't care who you are or who your daddy is. I would rather die than join the likes of so called 'nobility' like you!"

"That can be arranged"

The woman froze, feeling the tip of a blade against the back of her neck and the icy calm voice from behind her.

"Release my brother… now"

The girl did as she was commanded, though not without a huff as an attempt to keep some dignity and control of the situation.

After taking a step away, and towards the blonde, Ichigo let out a sigh once more.

"Obviously we struck a nerve with you and for that, and any other offenses, I apologize. We are not here to force you into anything so if you are not interested then we will take our leave."

As the two turned to depart a small voice called out, stopping them.

"Wait… I overreacted back there and I am sorry. I have had some bad experiences with those who deem money and power to elevate them above everyone else. What exactly is your group trying to do?"

"We are going to change the world." The orange haired boy replied, his voice taking on a serious tone. The way he spoke, she felt like his confidence alone would make it happen.

"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to at least see what your intentions are… what's your name anyway?"

"You may call me Jugram." The blonde replied stoically.

"And I am Ichigo."

Bambietta's heart fluttered for just a moment as long forgotten memories threatened to surface in her mind.

 _***RitL***_

"So how many are we up to?"

"I believe that puts us around fifteen recruits, assuming that they all join in the end."

Ichigo gave a loud groan, he had been hoping for closer to twenty after losing count weeks ago.

"Man, how did dad do this by himself!?"

"I believe that his majesty did not seek them out but rather the other way around. They approached him after hearing of his endeavors.

"So we need to make a really big scene and tell everyone how awesome we are?"

"I do not think that would be wise."

Ichigo pouted, missing the slight smirk from his companion.

"Hey Jugo, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, there are no secrets between us remember?"

"Yeah… so why is it that you call dad 'majesty' all the time?"

"Why do you call him 'father'?"

The boy froze up for a moment, as memories of his previous family popped into his mind. His face must have turned into a painful grimace as the blonde immediately took notice.

"I-I am sorry Ichigo, I did not mean to bring up…"

"No, no it's okay. I just haven't thought about them in a long time. I guess because I see him as my father now. I mean he did raise me and protect me right? That is the definition of a parent. I know my real dad is still out there but since we are on opposite sides and I haven't seen him in years… I don't know I guess it is just easier this way."

Jugo nodded, before staring straight ahead as if remembering his own past. "To me he is royalty, someone to look up to and respect. Someone to obey and follow no matter what path he might take. I feel like he has earned this respect from all of us."

"Do you think that I am being disrespectful towards him?"

It wasn't a question asked in anger, but rather one of curiosity. Ichigo truly wanted to know what the other boy thought.

"No… I think that by you referring to him as such it is your own way of showing respect. You value family above all else which shows your respect towards the idea."

A few comfortable moments passed by in silence before the orange haired boy spoke up once more.

"You should try calling him 'dad' sometime. Just to see what it feels like. I think he would enjoy that."

The blonde nodded, before committing the idea to memory.

 _***RitL***_

Another village had fallen to his army. Thankfully this one had been considerably less resistant than the last few, and thus there was no need to take the battle into the livable areas.

The last one still haunted him, having to fight for every room in each building they came across…

It had been a bloodbath for the defenders, and even Yhwach's army had taken high casualties during the engagement.

If they could avoid another conquest like that the elder Quincy would be all too happy.

He had personally thanked every lucky spirit and divine creature he could think of that he had been given the foresight to keep his sons from the conflict. There was no reason to involve them in such atrocities.

Looking down at the map once more the man took note of the new intelligence reports he had just received. A handful of skirmishes on their western flank showed that there was at least some resistance there but nothing that couldn't be handled.

Another two states had shifted from their original aggressive stance to one of neutrality, which meant that they were trying to leave their previous alliance as quietly and peacefully as possible until they could be behind the lines of combat and protected.

Only three enemy 'nations' remained. Three more to conquer until this civil war was over. Truthfully it hadn't been as bloody as Yhwach had originally anticipated. Despite all of their enemies having large militaries the states themselves were divided internally as well as externally as to which side to support.

Freedom or unity

This severely weakened the enemy armies and removed the threat of a unified attack against him.

Reading through several more documents the Quincy lord came upon a small note that allowed him to smile for the first time in many weeks.

The Sternritter were nearly replenished, thanks to his two sons. All of the recruits had given favorable responses to joining the force, which meant that they only needed about three more to complete their ranks.

After that they could take time to replenish, and then begin their observations of the surface worlds in earnest.

The only question at that point would be where his blade would fall first.

 _***RitL***_

It had taken almost ten months, but the 'civil war' was finally over.

Yhwach had won and the Quincy nations were united once more under a common banner, under a common leader.

Almost as important as this had been the success of his two young sons. The future Sternritter were assembled once more.

Now all that was required was the ceremony to cement their powers, and then the next phase could begin.

"Each of you assembled here" The man gave a broad gesture to the twenty-four individuals seated before him, "have chosen to accept the call to arms. You have been chosen to reform the legendary 'Sternritter' and fight for our civilization. You will recreate the most powerful group of knights that the world has ever known. But most importantly through your actions to come… we shall achieve peace and justice for the fallen."

A cheer went out through the hall.

"Now step forward one by one, and receive your signature. Once you do so you will give up your last name and join those who have done so before you."

Those before him began lining up as he commanded, while his two sons stood by his side.

"This is all due to your hard work my sons. You have helped to secure our future and victory in the conflict to come. I could not be more proud of both of you than I am right now."

"Thanks dad, but you did most of the 'securing' yourself during the war."

"He is correct… father."

Though it was said with some awkwardness Ichigo grinned at the blonde, while the Quincy lord turned to face him, a slightly shocked, but exceedingly happy, expression on his face.

When the first member approached the three men he knelt down before the leader, who placed his hand gently upon the Sternritter's face.

"I see in you great potential, now I shall awaken it and inscribe it onto your soul." A flash of light surrounded the kneeling soldier, who remained perfectly still.

A brief moment later and the ritual had been completed.

"Now rise and await your brothers and sisters."

The man nodded, before the next member approached.

 _***RitL***_

The entire situation had taken only a few minutes, and then the newly conceived force stood before their leader.

"What is your command your majesty!?" one of the new Sternritter called out.

This brought the ruler back to his present train of thoughts, though his smile had widened considerably. "Go forth and train, become what each of you are destined to be. Grow as a family and as individuals. We have time now to gather our forces and repair our culture. Soon we will begin to observe our true enemies, those that have tried to annihilate us."

With one more cheer the group dissipated, with one black haired girl never noticing the stare that a certain orange haired boy had locked onto her.

"See something interesting my son?"

Ichigo scowled at his father's teasing tone, and Jugo's attempt to hide his own smirk.

"Yes in fact I have. She had the most interesting personality out of all of them."

"She also threatened you with the most bodily harm if you remember correctly brother. Are you sure that you are not simply a masochist?"

"Hey, at least I am _interested_ in girls Jugo. I recall you staring a bit too long at that redheaded guy's ass when we first met him."

The blonde sputtered forth denials, while their father smiled warmly at the two boy's interaction.

 _***RitL***_

Very quickly, and much to Yhwach's annoyance, the various 'knights' had formed tiny cliques rather than joining together as one group.

One of the Quincy's founding principles, and greatest strengths, was teamwork. Yet despite all the history lessons his own royal guard seemed to be missing the point of this.

Luckily he had drilled these concepts into his two sons over the course of _years_. Thus he was able to stand aside and let the two boys try and unite them together. So far, though, they were content with just letting the others get comfortable with each other.

"Hey there, what's your name?"

"Bambietta B... just Bambietta."

The opposing blonde girl smiled, and gave off a feeling of unending cheer and happiness.

"That's cool, I am still not used to getting rid of the whole last name thing either. My name is Vanda by the way. This is Rille and Keifer do you want to sit together?"

The black haired girl pondered the offer for a moment, having been fairly self-dependent her life had not helped her social skills any, before nodding in acceptance.

"Awesome! We girls need to stick together after all right? I mean there are already enough guys here that it is a bit ridiculous."

"I'll say, you can practically taste the testosterone radiating from a couple of their little groups." The redheaded Rille noted with a look of disgust on her face.

"Got that right girl. Of course it's not all bad, there are a few pieces of eye candy around here that can make the days a bit more enjoyable. I wouldn't mind 'training' a few of them if you catch my meaning." the brunette mentioned, casting a sultry gaze around the room while admiring a few of the men for a longer period.

"If you are into macho idiots sure, what about you Bambietta? What do you think of our 'colleagues'?"

The targeted female paused for a moment, her thoughts returning traitorously to a certain orange haired man. A moment later she shook her head to clear out the images.

"I think that most of them are probably either pompous assholes or moronic jackasses. I have seen men like this before, they either think they know it all or believe themselves to be 'God's gift to women'."

"Ain't that the truth." Rille agreed.

"I don't know, the guys who recruited me seemed fairly nice and down to earth... plus the one was just plain hot." Vanda commented.

Curiosity getting the better of her Bambietta decided to inquire further. "Who would that be exactly?"

"The guy with the cute orange hair, Ichigo. I even heard he might be one of his majesty's heirs. You saw him standing up there."

"Kind of hard to miss." The redhead muttered out.

"Well regardless of what we think of the others the important thing is that we stick together."

The others nodded, although Bambietta seemed a bit more hesitant, in approval.

 _***RitL***_

"So father what is your plan now?" Ichigo inquired, as the three men sat in the throne room.

"Just as I said before, we shall begin training and preparing for war. While our enemies are lax and continue to grow fat and weak we shall become stronger. When we strike it will be decisive, no matter who it is against."

"I still say we should go against the Hollows first. Those monsters have been around for far too long."

"I must disagree with you there brother. I understand and share your hatred towards them but if the Shinigami are given time to prepare for our arrival then our invasion will be that much more costly."

"You overestimate them Jugo. I do not deny they are powerful but they are also too prideful for their own good. Even if we launch a full scale invasion of Hueco Mundo I can't imagine them taking any steps to prepare save for withdrawing their forces from the World of the Living."

"You both make valid points but the true answer is not so obvious. In order to avoid what is strong you must strike what is weak."

"So what are you planning then father?" The blonde inquired.

"There are storm clouds on the horizon for both sides. A war is coming and I fully intend to let them destroy each other before we make any move on either side. Who knows maybe they will cause each other enough damage that we will be able to invade both at the same time without worry."

The two boys nodded, before returning their attention to the monitor before them, and the room housing the Sternritter.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _His projectile hit the barely visible target straight on, completely destroying it with pinpoint accuracy._

 _The others, save for Jugo and Vanda, stared wide eyed at the scene._

 _Turning back the orange haired boy growled out in annoyance at the others, "If you can't do it in one shot, don't do it at all!"_

 _***Omake: Under Arrest, Part 3***_

Two old men sat next to each other, their judging eyes gazing across the crowded room.

"This trial is hereby come to order. The case of the People v. Aizen Sosuke and Orochimaru will now begin."

"Excuse me your excellencies but why are they both being placed on trial at the same time?" The prosecutor inquired.

"An age old alliance was setup back at the beginning of 'Shadows of Deceit' allowing for joint court cases to be made together. The only reason this exists is as an exchange so that Gin Ichimaru, the defense attorney, can use 'Naruto' references in his jokes." Hiruzen Sarutobi explained.

"YOSH!"

"Shut it Gin!"

The silver haired man simply grinned.

"Now that this is all settled, please begin your case."

"Well your honors I would like to begin with my opening statement…"

"OBJECTION!"

The room fell quiet, as all eyes fell upon the smirking pale Captain.

"Yes Ichimaru, what are you objecting to?"

"This entire preceding is a travesty of JUSTICE! I hereby challenge the court to produce a single piece of evidence to _any_ crime either of my clients has ever perpetrated."

"Accepted"

The silver haired man turned to the prosecutor, who had pulled out a stack of papers from his briefcase over ten feet high. How he was able to fit it in there to begin with no one quite knew.

"Huh… playing hardball then eh? Well then it's time for the big guns… DEFENSES EXHIBIT A!"

The back wall was instantly knocked down, as Tousen slowly dragged in an object covered in a large sheet.

"BEHOLD! THE UNDENIABLE PROOF!"

The dark skinned man sighed, before withdrawing the covering. The object itself was actually a massive portrait of both Aizen and Orochimaru in all black leather outfits and whips chasing around a bunch of scantily clad children.

The silence was deafening.

Gin, as opposed to everyone else in the court room, had a rather proud look on his face. The others were ones of shock and horror.

"Gin…." Aizen growled out in annoyance.

"Ichimaru, this is all rather… disturbing… but what was the point here?"

"THE POINT MY GOOD SIR! Is to take a good look at the portrait… a really good look. I mean really stick your face in close. So close that you can practically _smell_ the leather and body odor perfume sprayed onto the canvas."

The two judges seemed to peer closer at the picture, trying to understand what the crazed man was talking about.

"I still don't…"

"What are the children wearing?"

"Scantily clad outfits that would make even Anko blush?" Hiruzen answered.

"EXACTLY!"

Again the room fell silent, while the two defendants developed irritated eye twitches.

"Which just proves that they are _not_ in fact naked! Thus there is nothing more inappropriate going on than two grown men in leather outfits chasing around young boys and girls in revealing clothing. I REST MY CASE!"

The prosecutor glanced at his mountain of evidence, then at the picture, then at Gin, then back at his evidence before shrugging. "Uhm… I let the evidence speak for itself your honors."

***A/N***

I am having wayyyyyy to much fun with these Omakes.

So these first couple chapters are going to be a bit jumpy, as most of you have noticed by now. I was originally going to do this big civil war thing and have Quincy battles and such but… well I have this eerie flashback to my first Bleach story and how well the 'Civil War' went down.

For those of you who have not read it, that was probably the _worst_ chapter in the entire thing, and my least favorite to write.

As for the lack of combat, well considering I am planning on around _half_ of this story being the actual war... I think it will be okay in the long run.

Starting next chapter, I will begin to keep a list of the Sternritter and their letter designations.

Again I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far!


	5. Relationships

**Raised in the Light**

Relationships

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

She had first caught his subtle glances a few days after the ceremony.

The orange haired boy, Ichigo, who had recruited her. The one who had stood alongside their king, who had thus far promoted the teamwork and relationships among the Sternritter. The one who now stared at her whenever he could.

It annoyed Bambietta to no end.

Who the hell did he think he was? Did his sick useless mind think that just because he was 'royalty' and favored by their lord that he could claim her as his own? Did he expect her to follow his every command now that he took an interest in her?

The thought of it made her blood boil. She was not a prize to be won or an object to be used whenever some asshole saw fit.

She would make sure he knew this.

 _***RitL***_

He couldn't help but sneak looks at her whenever she was alone. It wasn't that he was _trying_ to be creepy or anything, he just couldn't help it.

She was beautiful, in a dark and mysterious way. She was unapproachable, aggressive, sarcastic, and all around sort of hostile.

It only furthered his fascination towards her. He wanted to know everything about this woman, her wants, desires, hopes, dreams, hates, loves, and ambitions.

He had never been so interested in someone before, much less a female. Normally women were just sort of attracted to him due to his abnormalities. He didn't have the regal or power that his father had, nor the cold but calculating good looks that his brother wielded to effortlessly.

He had bright orange hair, was loud, rude, and a bit of an ass.

Yet he drew followers like moths to a candle. Men envied and praised his presence and skill. Women flocked to his 'charms' and exotic appearance.

Yet this one did not. He had never taken on the activity of 'dating' or 'courtship' before, having never really had the time or desire to do so. But now… now he wanted nothing more than to spend every morning waking up next to this woman and learning about her.

The only question that remained was, _'_ how the hell was he supposed to do that'.

Ichigo had no skill in seduction, hell he barely even knew what _sex_ was, his father's 'talk' had been awkward and embarrassing for everyone involved and thus had been cut quite short. So now here he was, staring at her from across the room and trying not to be too obvious about it. Should he just walk up and talk to her? Or would 'playing hard to get' be easier? He had overheard some of the male Sternritter talking about a concept known as 'glance then look away, uninterested' and wondered if that was the key to success.

For now, though he simply stuck to the only plan he could come up with. Watch her from afar until he could think of something better.

 _***RitL***_

"Hey Bambi-chan it looks like your admirer is back again." Vanda noted with a happy giggle.

The black haired girl merely growled in response. Staring at her occasionally in the hall or in the lunchroom was creepy enough, but while they were training? Hell she had never even seen the boy so much as fire an arrow at a target and he had the _audacity_ to waste time by undressing her with his eyes?

Enough was enough, she was past being tired of this _child_ and his irritating habit. So she did what she did best. Publicly humiliate and shoot the bastard down.

"HEY ASSHOLE IF YOU DON'T STOP FUCKING STARING AT ME I'M GOING TO PUT ARROWS INTO YOUR DAMN EYES!"

Ichigo promptly turned beet red as everyone turned to stare at him, before making a hasty retreat back towards the castle that they occupied.

"Tch serves the creep right." Rille noted with approval.

Meanwhile their blonde companion merely stared after the boy, an apologetic look in her eyes as if she had done something wrong.

 _***RitL***_

"So lover-boy how is the stalking going?" 'Bazz' teased as he took a seat next to the two brothers.

"Indeed Ichigo, tell us of your attempts at courting the young Bambietta. You two would make a wonderful couple!" Gerhard agreed, completely missing the sarcasm in the younger man's voice as always.

"I am not _stalking_ her. I just… haven't figured out how to go up and talk to her yet."

The men at the table fell silent, until they roared out in laughter, all save Ichigo, Jugo, and Gerhard, who seemed a bit confused as to what everyone else found funny.

"Oh man are you freaking serious? Tell me he is serious Bazz? You don't know how to talk to girls? Wow I never really pictured you as being that lame." This time it had been the red haired man's 'partner in crime' that had mocked the orange haired boy.

Lutz and his fellow 'associate' had immediately become best friends, after finding out that their personalities were 'too awesome not to spend time with each other'.

"Hey it's not like we spent a whole lot of time in normal social situations. Our trip to recruit you assholes was the first time Jugo and I were even allowed out of the castle without dad being within twenty feet of us at all times."

The blonde nodded in agreement with his brother. Although they both knew that their father trusted them, he put the term 'overprotective parent' to the limit.

"Hey Lutz man it's not their fault, besides they don't have _nearly_ as useful of powers as we do. I mean I can make a romantic bonfire anywhere I want, and you… well no one can argue with the 'kinky' applications of **The Restraint**."

"True, but I still say you look into some lower level applications of your own power Bazz man. Just think of the applications of making the room _just_ warm enough to _encourage_ some of the girls to strip down a bit. **The Heat** really is a simple, but awesome power."

"So what should I do?"

The table fell silent for a brief second before the mohawk sporting man answered, "Alright Ichigo tell you what, I like you so I am going to give you some advice on how to get a date with your lady."

The orange haired boy nodded, leaning in to listen to the, hopefully decent, advice.

 _***RitL***_

"Hey Bambietta could I talk to you for a second?"

The black haired girl scowled in annoyance at her personal time with her friends being interrupted.

"What do you want?" she growled out, marching over to where Ichigo stood nervously.

"I uh... just wanted to apologize for before and was um... wondering if you wanted to you know... go on a date sometime."

The Quincy froze in her spot, becoming aware of the slight snickering from behind her from the group of girls she had been walking with.

She was being embarrassed by this _asshole_ in front of her friends, all because he had some stupid crush on her.

Once more the anger inside got the better of her.

"No! Go away and leave me the hell alone!"

The boy quickly nodded, before fleeing the area, a bit fearful of the girl's wrath.

 _***RitL***_

"It's not my fault. I just don't know how to do this whole 'romantic conversation' thing. I mean give me a mission to recruit someone and I can come up with a dozen plans on the spot. Ask me to destroy a Hollow and I can do it from a half mile away. Hell ask me to plan a war and I could probably come up with something, but talking to a girl on my own? Apparently that is the limit of my social skills." Ichigo ranted to his brother, who nodded slightly.

Jugo felt bad for the orange haired boy, he really did. He knew that Ichigo did feel a legitimate attraction towards the girl, more than just lust, but wasn't good at actually expressing this. It was one of the problems growing up as they did. Training and missions came easy, but normal social interaction was very difficult for them even now.

"What do you think I should do?"

The blonde mused for a moment, trying to come up with a solution to his brother's situation. Asking for advice hadn't gotten the boy very far and he shuddered to think what their father might suggest, or try and manipulate, for him.

"I believe you should try and befriend the girl before moving on to any type of romantic relationship. You said it yourself that you do not deal well with that type of conversation but you seem to flow quite naturally with the other male Sternritter and even some of the females that you are not interested in."

"You know what Jugo... you're right. Thanks!" Ichigo happily jogged off to find the object of his desires, hoping to at least build _some kind_ of relationship with her.

 _***RitL***_

The poor boy tried again, and again, and again. Yet each time he would attempt to build some sort of friendship he found himself 'hitting a brick wall'.

He was yelled at, made fun of, criticized, and almost assaulted.

Yet each day he would try again, the same warm smile on his face as he approached the girl, the same hopeful expression.

Each day she would send him away in a different manner, trying to break his spirits to the point where he would stop pestering her.

It culminated one day during her usual training time.

"Hey Bambietta I was just wondering if you…"

"Can't you see I'm training right now? Go the hell away!"

The boy winced back, and glanced around at the snickering that had already begun.

The girl formed another arrow, intending on hitting the goal of all Sternritter, the 'Long Shot', dubbed 'The Impossible Shot' by the Sternritter themselves.

It was a target placed nearly to two miles away from the firing line, a distance that put it on the edge of visibility. A challenge setup by Yhwach himself to test his soldiers and give them an impossible task to strive for, a goal to never been met.

"Uhm, well maybe you want some help or advice? I bet if you…"

She had finally had enough.

"WHAT PART OF 'LEAVE ME ALONE' DON'T YOU GET!? ALL I SEE YOU DO IS SCREW AROUND AND PESTER ME. DO YOU THINK THIS WAR IS A JOKE? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ACTUALLY TRAINED YOU PIECE OF CRAP?"

The boy shrunk down, staring at the floor to avoid the angry look in her eyes, before muttering out an apology and quietly leaving.

"Bout damn time!" she muttered, oblivious to the fact that many of the others were staring at her with disapproving eyes.

"You didn't have to be so mean to the guy, he just wanted to be your friend and all you've done is yell at him. Hell he might have actually helped you." Vanda noted with cold tone.

"Yeah right, when he actually manages to do something useful I will apologize profusely." Bambietta finished in a mocking tone, before going back to firing at, and missing, the target.

 _***RitL***_

Corpses covered the ground, bodies of his friends, of his companions…

Worst of all was the two being currently devoured, his brother and father.

Hollows prowled the 'grave yard' feasting on the flesh of the fallen, consuming whatever was left of them. Just like they had with his mother.

He had been powerless to stop them, too weak, too inadequate once again. The Shinigami laughed out in mocking tones from nearby. They taunted his despair, reminded him of his failures, and explained everything that was useless about him.

He had failed everyone… all because he hadn't been strong enough.

Ichigo cried out, sitting up in his bed and completely covered in sweat.

A nightmare, that was all it had been. But it had _felt_ so real. The images still haunted him.

Had he been too relaxed lately? He still trained every day, despite what others thought, he just did it early in the morning to leave himself free time. But it had been far too long since his 'true training days'. Too long since he had felt his body barely holding itself up from exhaustion, too long since he had felt truly satisfied with his progress.

He had grown complacent, worrying more about the other Sternritter and not about his own progress.

That was going to change.

 _***RitL***_

"How long?"

"Since four in the morning, but this has been going on for a week now."

"The cause?"

"I am unsure, but the rumor is that there was a particularly brutal rejection from the woman he admires."

Yhwach nodded, "handle this, before I am forced to."

Jugo gave a slight bow before returning his worried gaze towards his brother, "Of course father."

 _***RitL***_

"Hey anybody seen Ichigo lately? I kind of miss the little jerk, reminds me of the young naïve brother I never had." Bazz called out.

"Not in a few days."

"I heard rumors that he has been training in some other area. One of the others caught sight of him staggering back to his room at like eight in the evening one day."

"No way, it isn't humanely possible to train that long. I saw him walking around at like three-thirty the other morning. He would have been training for like sixteen hours!"

"What were you doing at three in the morning?"

"I was uh… mind your own damn business!"

The topic was quickly changed to the normal gossip, but one blonde girl in particular noticed the pained expression on the orange haired boy's brother's face when it was mentioned.

She would get to the bottom of it, even if she had to be a bit… persuasive.

 _***RitL***_

"So, Jugram-kun you are looking nice today."

The blonde haired teen nodded slightly towards the female Sternritter, "You as well Vanda."

"I was kind of wondering if you could spare a few minutes to talk."

The man frowned in annoyance, before focusing his gaze on the young woman.

"I do not know who you _think_ you are, but if you try and manipulate me with your abilities again **Emotion** I will show you what pain truly feels like."

She immediately did as he demanded, dropping her influence that was attempting to steer his emotions towards what she wanted.

"Sorry, I just… I haven't seen your brother around lately and I was worried about him. I know Bambietta can be a bit… harsh."

"Indeed, he has been training diligently since the incident."

"The rumors are that it is more than just diligence, I would say it sounds more like _fanaticism_."

"Why do you care?"

"Because I… well I feel attached to him… he was one of the most upbeat and easy going of us and I don't want to see that destroyed just because my friend feels like living up to her title."

"She is quite **volatile** isn't she?"

"Understatement of the freaking year." The blonde girl muttered out, before shifting back to her slightly hopeful expression.

"I was thinking that maybe Ichigo just needs someone to care about him, you know to bring him out of this… whatever it is."

Jugo paused for a moment, as if considering the proposition. A moment later he nodded, and gestured for the girl to follow him.

 _***RitL***_

Vanda had always considered herself a decent archer and combatant. She could hit most of the targets up to about half a mile away, even while moving. When the blonde Sternritter had suggested that she ask for a few tips or advice to help cheer his brother up the girl had gone along with it.

Surely he would be decent enough at something to at least pretend like she could learn from him right? Something to boost his confidence and start a friendship with him.

This idea was immediately forgotten when she arrived at the boy's training ground.

The entire area had been utterly decimated, targets ranging past the one mile marked had been hit with accuracy and precision that the blonde female hadn't even thought was possible.

"Wh-what is..."

"Bringing a girl down to dad's training ground Jugo? You realize if he catches you it will be dish washing duties for a month."

The boy rolled his eyes at his brother's teasing tone, while the girl continued to stare awestruck at the scene.

"Y-you did all this? Do you really train for the entire day?"

Ichigo shrugged, "depends on how you define 'the entire day'."

"He has been training for over twelve hours a day every day for the last week."

"You're..."

"A bit of a freak I know..."

"AWESOME! That is incredible Ichigo! I mean do you see yourself!? Why don't you show off and train with everyone else?"

"Because I guess I have felt different enough with my appearance that I would rather not stand out any more than I already do."

"I don't think you should hide what you can do. Plus, I like the way you look." The girl's face turned bright red a moment later after she realized what she had just said to the teenager in front of her.

"Th-thanks that means more than you realize."

Jugo smiled as his brother and the pretty young blonde interacted, if he had to be honest with himself he much preferred this relationship over the potential of his brother dating Bambietta.

"Hey uh would you like to maybe get something to eat this evening? You know, just the two of us?"

The orange haired boy hesitated for an instant, before smiling at the young girl.

"Yeah, I would like that."

 _***RitL***_

"I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT!" Bazz-B shouted out in excitement, as he ran into the lunch area where most of the other Sternritter were eating.

The only two missing were Ichigo and Vanda, the black haired female noted with a bit of annoyance.

It had been over a week since her little 'confrontation' with the boy and she still hadn't had any interactions with him. Of course this meant that she was free to commit herself to training. But a small portion of her mind missed the boy and his constant bothering. He made it feel like there was something beyond just training and combat, something to look forward to after the war was over.

Shaking her head Bambietta rose and followed with the other knights to see what the mohawked boy was ranting about.

A few minutes later they assembled in the training area.

"So what is this all about B man? I was enjoying my Tuesday pudding cup" Lutz whined in annoyance.

The others rolled their eyes.

"Ladies and assholes boys and flat chested bitches I present to you... THE SOLUTION!"

Again the various Sternritter stared at the man, only this time significantly more annoyed than previously.

"Get on with it jackass."

"I have solved the puzzle... of 'The Impossible Shot'! As you all know the rule was that anyone who could hit the target could declare themselves to be 'Leader of the Sternritter' and thus you will all be forced to acknowledge me!"

"You have to hit it first Bazz-B." one of the men pointed out, a bit perturbed at having his lunch interrupted by this.

"Exactly, watch and learn!"

With the the red haired man turned, drew his bow... and proceeded to blanket fire the entire area.

The others watched on, a bit slack-jawed at the man's supposed solution. Finally, after nearly a minute the barrage ended, show that he had indeed hit the target, albeit barely.

"S-see!" the man gasped out, panting from exertion.

"That isn't how the task was supposed to be solved Bazz-B, my father wanted it to be set as a goal to strive for, not some puzzle that you could simply cheat at and pretend to be superior then afterwards."

"H-hey I hit it didn't I?"

"Barely" Bambietta muttered out.

"S-still c-counts!"

"What's all the commotion about?"

Turning the other Quincy greeted the two missing Sternritter, Ichigo and Vanda.

"It appears brother, that Bazz-B has opted to declare himself 'Leader of the Sternritter' since he was able to fire enough arrows to scratch the 'long shot' setup by father."

"D-damn right!"

"Did you explain to him how that _isn't_ the point of the target?"

"I did"

"Listen asshole, just because you and your little girlfriend c-can't do any better doesn't mean you have to try and ruin it for the rest of us."

"He did technically hit the target, even if it was through sheer luck."

Ichigo paused for a moment, before walking up to the 'firing line'. In an instant he had drawn his bow, formed an arrow, and fired.

His projectile hit the barely visible target straight on, completely destroying it with pinpoint accuracy.

The others, save for Jugo and Vanda, stared wide eyed at the scene.

Turning back the orange haired boy growled out in annoyance at the others, "If you can't do it in one shot, _don't do it at all_!"

With that he turned to leave, smiling as the blonde haired girl hugged his arm.

Bambietta didn't know which was more unsettling, the fact that the boy she had called a failure had just done what no one else could, effortlessly. Or that her stomach had twisted into knots when she saw the boy's interaction with her friend.

He used to smile at her like that.

 _***RitL***_

"My children, now that we have an accurate analysis of all the major factors in this coming war we shall begin our major preparations. I want everyone to be ready for war one year from now. Our first target will be the remaining Arrancar and Espada."

The Quincy lord paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the assembled soldiers, looking for any signs of hesitance.

He found none.

"Once they have been dealt with, and the Hollows properly thinned down, we shall begin our invasion of the Soul Society using the energy rich atmosphere of Hueco Mundo. This time there will be no survivors, our vengeance and justice will be just as quick and efficient as their cowardly assault a thousand years ago."

The assembled army, along with the Sternritter, cheered in agreement with their lord. Soon everything would be different, soon the world would know of them once more. Soon victory would be theirs.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

"Go forth my soldiers, my officers, my family. Go forth and cleanse the monsters that lurk in the shadows. Go forth and begin the process of creating a lasting peace, one where neither humans nor Quincy need to fear the night. Go forth and return victorious."

The army gave a triumphant cry

 _***Omake: Under Arrest, Part 4***_

"We have come to a decision!" The eldest Shinigami called out, silencing the courtroom.

"In the case of the People v. Aizen and Orochimaru, we find the defendants guilty of 'being creepy beyond what is acceptable in an anime or manga." Hiruzen finished with a nod.

The two defendants growled in annoyance.

The prosecutor smirked.

Gin, however, began crying hysterically.

"NOOOOO AIZEN-CHAN! I SWEAR I SHALL NOT REST UNTIL THIS TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE IS REVOKED!"

"Gin, perhaps you should let Tousen..."

"NONSENSE! I ALREADY HAVE A PLAN OF APPEAL! You see Aizen-kun I plan on making the argument that without you 'hunting' and 'preying' upon them, the child population would grow to staggeringly high numbers and thus the 'tiny people', as I have begun calling them, would overrun the Earth! THINK OF THE CHAOS!"

"Uhmmmm objection your honor?" the prosecutor called out, unsure whether or not he was actually _allowed_ to object to Gin's newest argument, but feeling the moral obligation to do so regardless.

The two judges glanced at each other in confusion, before nodding. "Sustained, Gin the appeal is denied."

"Huh... well so much for that idea. Do not worry though Orochimaru-kuchan, I also have an argument that you should immediately be released due to being an endangered species, the 'Albino child eating snake'. Thus they will be _forced_ to release you and..."

"Objection again?"

"Sustained again, appeal denied Gin."

"Well then... guess I am out of ideas. Sorry Aizen-chun and Orochimaru-kan"

At this Gin skipped out of the room, whistling a rather impressive rendition of 'Another One Bites the Dust' and completely ignoring the honorifics that he had just made up.

 _***RitL***_

The two criminals sat in the joint cell, not realizing that by combining their court cases they were also forced to share a single living quarters now.

"Sssssssso..."

"Yeah..."

"Want to play a card game?"

"Maybe a... children's card game?" Aizen finished with a smirk, pulling out a deck of 'Yu-Gi-Oh' cards.

The Sanin nodded, a smirk of his own forming as well.

Just then the guard walked by, confiscating the objects with a growl.

"How many times do we have to tell you two!? You aren't allowed to have any objects _relating_ to children at all! Besides you two have a visitor."

The two convicts turned, curious about who would be stopping by, and hoping for either Tousen or Kabuto to pull through with a last minute rescue.

Unfortunately, it was their 'attorney' coming to check on them.

"HEY GUYS! How's it going?"

"Gin..." The Shinigami growled out in annoyance.

"Oh don't be that way Aizen-Bo. Besides I have a gift for you two." With that the grinning Captain took off his shoe, and proceeded to pull out a tray of cupcakes from it.

Both men stared blankly at the display of reality bending magic, but decided not to question it.

"Cupcakesssssssss?"

"Indeed, but make sure you eat them _**CAREFULLY**_ if you catch the cut of my jib."

The two nodded slowly, allowing the man to smile and once more skip off, but this time doing so on his hands rather than using his legs.

Aizen made a note to ask the silver haired man how he did that once he was free.

As the two began slowly picking apart the food, they noticed that there were tiny pieces and parts in each piece of cake, as if it was a puzzle.

Unfortunately, Ichimaru hadn't included any instructions, thus they spent the next week trying to figure out how to put whatever it was together until...

"Eureka! It is... a really tiny cell phone?"

Moments later the phone rang, apparently being powered by the left over cupcake icing.

"Um hello?" The Sanin answered hesitantly.

"Hi there Orochimaru-kohai, what are you up to?"

"Gin..." the pale man growled out, now becoming equally annoyed at the smiling man's antics.

"Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss?"

"Gin I thought this was to break us out of jail? Why did you smuggle us in a cell phone?"

"So we can talk"

The two men looked up, spotting the man sitting mere feet away from their jail cell.

"Wha... WHY DID YOU SEND US A PHONE IF YOU WERE JUST GOING TO SHOW UP IN PERSON!?"

"All a part of the plan Aizen-Senpai."

"And the plan issssssss what?"

"No idea, but when you think of one you let me know."

"GIN GET US OUT OF HERE!"

"Oh you wanted out? Why didn't you say so?"

With that Ichimaru produced a jail cell key, and promptly opened the door for them.

Both men immediately developed the most intense case of 'eye twitches' that had ever been recorded in medical history.

***A/N***

So I know this chapter probably felt a bit slow, but I wanted to throw in some normal interactions between the characters and begin setting up the future relationships of the story.

As for anyone who comments on how 'stupid' Ichigo is acting... well I challenge anyone to name a fairly socially isolated teenage boy who could legitimately talk to the first girl he has a crush on. Quite frankly it just doesn't happen that way.

As promised I am beginning a list of the Sternritter and their epitaph's.

Sternritter:

A

B

C

D

E **The Emotion** Vanda

F

G

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz

S

T

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y

Z


	6. Preparations for Invasions

**Raised in the Light**

Preparations for Invasions

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"I have decided that the new 'Sternritter Commander' shall lead the invasion and choose the forces for the purging of Hueco Mundo." Yhwach announced, a slight gleam of humor in his eyes.

"Your majesty, I do not think you have ever declared who this person is. I thought that all Sternritter were equal." A man named Brune inquired.

"True, but due to a certain 'wager' that was made without my approval I have decided to announce this now. Since my son was the only one able to make the 'long shot' he will be in charge of choosing his officers."

The others, especially Bazz-B, paled at this, glancing nervously at the boy. It was no secret that many of them wanted to be included in this mission, to rid existence of the foul creatures and to attain glory for their empire and themselves. Not only that but any impressive performances would undoubtedly be heard about by their leader and thus could gain promotions or other rewards.

For his part Ichigo just sighed, already becoming annoyed at the slight smirk his father had shot his way. He knew what the old man was doing, putting him into a position of leadership to see how he would respond.

That and the bastard just didn't want to bother with 'playing politics' himself.

"My son, I expect you to have your choices made by the end of the week. Be sure to pay our science department a visit to acquire information on our enemies at some point."

The orange haired boy nodded, before the regal man smiled and left the room with a flourish, thus dismissing all those present.

 _***RitL***_

Ichigo glared at his brother

Jugo smiled back

"This should be your job you know." The boy lamented in an annoyed tone. "I'm not the planning mastermind of the family."

"Ah yes, but you _are_ the charismatic leader."

Ichigo's glare deepened

Jugo's smile broadened

Giving out a deep sigh of defeat the former hybrid nodded. "Well I guess that means I have to choose my lieutenant first right?" The boy took on a thoughtful expression, considering all the possibilities, "Lutz would be a good choice, considering how patient and well thought his plans are."

The blonde man practically fell out of his seat.

"LUTZ!? ARE YOU..." taking a deep breath Jugo counted backwards... from a hundred, before calming himself. "I do believe that he would be a bad choice for the position brother, he is far from being level headed and..."

Jugo noticed the smirk on his brother's face, and realized what had happened.

"You can be quite the asshole sometimes brother."

Ichigo's smirk widened

"You know that I would trust no one more than you to have my back Jugo. Would you do me the honor of being my second in command?"

"Now and forever my brother."

 _***RitL***_

"So who do you think he's going to pick?"

"Who knows? Ichigo is pretty unpredictable when it comes to things like this."

"Things like what?" Vanda inquired, sitting down at the table where her friends were eating.

"Oh you know, planning and making big decisions. I think even you can agree that it is almost impossible to guess what he will do next." A woman by the name of Adali noted.

"True, but that is what makes being with him so much fun."

The young blonde missed the glare sent to her by Bambietta, though the others seated with them did not.

Though she did no comment, the **Volatile** did not forget their first 'conversation' about the girl's relationship.

 _***Flashback***_

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Vanda turned around, a bit confused as to what her friend was talking about.

"What do you mean?"

"You know _exactly_ what I mean. You hanging off of Ichigo like a lovesick schoolgirl."

"So?"

"What do you mean 'so'? What is your angle huh?"

"I don't have an 'angle' Bambietta. I like being close with him because I like him, that's all."

"And this has nothing to do with him being royalty?"

"No it doesn't." At this point the blonde was becoming a bit annoyed with her friend. What gave her the right to question their relationship? "Despite the fact that I don't need to explain my relationship with Ichigo I will anyway. I like being with him because he is fun. He makes me laugh, is cute, really smart, and a really nice person."

Bambietta gave a slight growl, but the other heard it regardless.

"Plus he is a really good kisser."

"Bitch"

This time the insult did not go unanswered. "What the hell is your problem anyway Bambietta? You were the one who didn't _want_ to even talk to him. You were constantly complaining about how 'he is always following me around and trying to get my attention'. So I got his attention off of you. If anything you should be grateful."

The other girl took a step back in surprise, forgetting for a moment what she had said.

"W-well yeah. I mean I am of course! I just..."

"Unless you _did_ feel something for him and were just too proud to admit it..."

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous!"

"As ridiculous as say... someone who is moments away from attacking one of her friends because of some guy?"

Bambietta lowered her head in shame. The girl was right and they both knew it. "Your right, I'm sorry. I guess I just... miss the attention a bit."

The blonde giggled happily, "If you say so Bambi-chan."

 _***End Flashback***_

Since then their relationship had been strained, but functional. Still Bambietta felt an envy towards her friend that should not have existed. She was happy that the young blonde was in a relationship. She wanted her to be happy but... why did it have to be with him?

 _***RitL***_

A series of knocks alerted the two brothers to someone wishing to gain their attention. Sighing in annoyance, and knowing _exactly_ what was likely to happen next, Ichigo walked to the door and answered.

Jugo tried to hide his smirk

On the other side stood Bazz-B and Lutz, both looking quite excited.

"Yes?"

"So Ichigo... what's the plan man?"

"Plan?"

"You know, for the invasion. Who are we going to be put in charge of, personally I wouldn't mind a few of the more... lovely... females at my beck and call if you know what I mean." Lutz noted with a creepy smile on his face.

" _I_ am still in the process of selecting _my_ officers. Also rest assured that none of the officers will be placed in charge of another one," Ichigo turned back towards the blonde man already in the room, "Unless of course you think that Rille would be a good choice to take command of these two?"

Jugo was about to respond, but was beaten to it.

"No, no that won't be necessary. None of the Sternritter should be placed over another just like you said hahaha..." Bazz-B broke into nervous laughter, slightly terrified of the thought at having the 'man hater' be his commanding officer.

"Ah well then, perhaps you should find something else to do rather than stand here?"

"Uh yeah of course, sorry bro." The two men promptly fled, hoping to avoid losing any more chance of being placed in the army than they already had.

Ichigo shook his head, before returning to the table where his brother was seated and going over the information on their fellow Sternritter.

"This is going to be a lot harder than I thought." the orange haired boy grumbled.

The blonde merely laughed.

 _***RitL***_

"I have made my decisions father."

"Very good, please reveal your chosen officers."

"Jugo is my lieutenant, of course."

The Quincy leader nodded, having expected nothing less from his son.

"Then I have decided to take along Vanda the **Emotion** , Bambietta the **Volatile** , Kort the **Domain** , Adali the **Thunder** , Irmine the **Golem** , Bazz-B the **Heat,** and Lothar the **Mirror**."

"I approve, very well ready your forces and prepare for your invasion. I will assemble the necessary soldiers for your infantry division. 'Fall Sonnenaufgang'* shall begin in one week. I suggest that your officers take this time to get to know each other for the battles to come."

 _***RitL***_

"This is going to be so much fun!" the youngest Sternritter happily chirped out. Irmine was incredibly young for a soldier, not even reaching teenage years yet, but had extraordinary potential and had been abandoned early on. The two brothers had offered her a home and friends in the Quincy kingdom, two things she hadn't been possessed in years.

"Yeah it is!" Vanda happily exclaimed, "I am so glad you two are coming along with us!"

"I agree; it will be good to spend some time with some of the fellow female Sternritter."

"As exciting as ever Adali..." Bambietta muttered out, as the females sat down in one of the private rooms together.

"So we should get to know each other right?"

"Of course Irmine! So what do you like to do in your free time?"

"Vanda, perhaps the more logical goal of this meeting would be to assess each other's combat abilities and begin to plan for strategies that might be feasible against any Arrancar enemies that we encounter."

"Nah that is super boring, I like my idea way more." The youngest girl interrupted the **Thunderbolt** with a cheer. "So I like to hang out with my friends, especially Puppe; exploring the castle, I have gotten lost so many times; and drawing pretty pictures!"

"Really!? Oh I would love to see some. We should hang out before the mission!" the blonde girl exclaimed.

"Awesome, it will be so much fun!"

"Ah hem..." Adali chimed in, "Perhaps we should at least do _some_ amount of strategizing?"

"Oh fine, I guess we can do the boring stuff now... but later..."

"Picture time!" Vanda cheered, much to the enjoyment of the younger girl.

 _***RitL***_

"So Ichigo, who is this guy we are going to meet?"

"Have you never been to our research department before?" The orange haired boy glanced back towards Lothar.

"Can't say that I have, why bother? It's not like it will make us stronger or anything."

"Knowledge is power, Quincy fight with our intellect above all else."

The boy's words silenced the older man, who nodded as the door opened and the group walked in.

"Have anything interesting..."

"ICHIGO! I AM SO GLAD TO SEE YOU LAD!" The voice rang out from above the Sternritter, as a large muscular man dropped from the ceiling, and fell onto the leader of the group.

"Yeah... great... good to... see you... too... Mask..." The boy gasped out, while being placed into various submission holds.

"Hey what are you doing to him!"

"AH YOU HAVE BROUGHT ALONG COMPANIONS! TRULY THIS IS A DAY OF DAYS! JAMES BRING FORTH REFRESHMENTS!"

"Of course Mister!"

A small bald child immediately scurried up, holding out a large tray of drinks and sandwiches.

"Uhhhhmmmmm thanks?"

"I promise they are not even drugged this time!"

Lutz immediately spat out the drink he had nearly chugged down, fearful of what he had just consumed.

"SO WHAT BRINGS YOU TO MY HUMBLE ABODE!?"

"Well... you could... get off me... first..."

"OF COURSE YOUNG MASTER! YOU SHOULD WORK ON YOUR ESCAPE TECHNIQUES THOUGH, IF AN ENEMY SHOULD GET THE DROP ON YOU THEY COULD FORCE YOU TO TAP OUT QUITE PROMPTLY." The man replied, before standing up and lifting the boy off the ground.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks... so I was told that you might have some info on..."

"Wait a second... _this guy_ is our head scientist?"

Ichigo just rolled his eyes, as if the answer was obvious, "Of course Bazz-B, who else would it be?"

The others, save for Jugo, just gaped.

"Surely you can't be serious..."

"HE IS QUITE SERIOUS, AND DO NOT CALL HIM SURELY!"

The Sternritter sweat dropped at the joke, before recollecting themselves.

"What the heck does this guy know about science!?"

"Who do you think invented the silver that molds to our spiritual signature Bazz-B? Or the _Seele Schnieder_ , _Ginto, or the Sanrei Glove_?"

Again the various members, save for Jugo and Ichigo, who had just given the response, gasped.

"B-b-but I thought all of that was like... really old!"

"AH YES I SEE THAT MY APPEARANCE HAS INDEED FOOLED YOU. I AM MASTER YHWACH'S OLDEST AND MOST LOYAL COMPANION! THANKFULLY MY BRAVERY AND STRENGTH HAS KEPT ME YOUNG!"

"That and the 'immortality potion' you drink every morning with breakfast." Ichigo noted with a smirk.

"SO CRUEL TO ME YOUNG MASTER! REGARDLESS I DO INDEED HAVE INFORMATION AND INVENTIONS FOR YOU! THOUGH MOST OF MY EFFORTS HAVE GONE INTO THE FUTURE WAR WITH THE SHINIGAMI!"

"Quite alright, I will take whatever help you can give me."

"OF COURSE!" with that the masked man leapt across the room, breaking a nearby table in the process, before digging through a seemingly pile of junk.

"Uh Ichigo is he always so..."

Anything that the Sternritter was about to ask was promptly interrupted by a cry of success. "HERE WE ARE!" Once again the man jumped from one side of the room to the other, smashing another table in the process.

After standing up, and dusting off the debris and various chemicals currently soaking or burning through his outfit, the Quincy handed the boy a small capsule.

"A _Ginto_ capsule?"

"INDEED, I REQUEST THAT YOU UNDERTAKE THE BRAVEST OF ALL TASKS. ONE OF COURAGE, DETERMINATION, STRENGTH, SKILL, KNOWLEDGE, CHARISMA..."

"I get it Mask, what do you need me to do?"

"RETRIEVE A _LIVING_ ARRANCAR FOR ME TO STUDY!"

" _Living?_ Fine take all the fun out of it. Alright Mask I will get you a test subject."

"GLORIOUS!"

With that the man crouched down, before jumping head first through a nearby wall, crashing through dozens of other expensive machines and experiments in his excitement.

The orange haired boy, on the other hand, seemed not perplexed by this at all, and merely nodded before moving towards the door with his brother, "Alright let's move out."

 _***RitL***_

"So Ichigo..."

"Yes?"

"Is that guy always so..."

"What?"

"Umm... what's the word..."

"CRAZY! Seriously what the hell is wrong with that guy?" Bazz-B interrupted.

Their leader immediately halted, before glaring back at the redhead who flinched in response. "He is _not_ crazy. The fact of the matter is that man is more important to the war effort than anyone else here. Knowledge and intellect will always be our greatest advantages and he has both of those in excess. Just because he is a bit eccentric does not change this at all."

"Uh right... sure... of course"

The boy glared for a moment longer, before continuing on his walk.

 _***RitL***_

"Hey Jugo"

"Jugram"

"What?"

"My name is Jugram, you may refer to me as such."

"Uh right, so I was wondering if you knew the reason we are invading Hueco Mundo instead of the Soul Society first? I mean the bastards attacked us like cowards."

"I am well aware of that Bazz-B, but his majesty has made the tactical decision to remove the Arrancar threat first and foremost."

"Yeah, I am just curious as to why."

"Because after the war with the Shinigami they are the weakest, this will gain our forces experience along with testing our military strength, and provide access to the spiritual rich environment of the Hollow world." the blonde paused for a moment before continuing on. "Most importantly though it removes the possibility of a two front war."

"Well I mean yeah... when you put it like that..."

 _***RitL***_

The pretty young blonde gave a sigh as she rested her head on her boyfriend's chest. Why couldn't all days be like this?

All Sternritter were one day a week for whatever they chose. Free of any training or drills.

The couple had spent the day together. Ichigo had made the plans himself, disguising both of them as a regular pair and eating in a nearby town. Next they had spent a few hours at a nearby park, just walking and enjoying the peaceful tranquility of nature. Finally, they had spent the evening together, in more ways than one.

It was the perfect ending for a perfect day in the Quincy girl's mind. There was no threat of war looming overhead, no training for the inevitable conflict or worrying about who would survive and who would not. It was just a peaceful calm.

How she longed for life to always be like this.

"I wish every day could be this amazing."

The girl smiled, before looking up and staring into her lover's eyes. She always knew they had shared similar dreams for the future but for him to outright say it was very comforting in her mind.

"What do you think is going to happen? Once the war is over I mean."

"There will be peace, a lasting peace where Hollows are a thing of the past and the Shinigami no longer control anyone's fate. Everyone, both Quincy and human alike will be able to choose their own destinies and not fear every waking moment."

The way he said it, made it feel like it was already a reality, it was one of the things that she truly loved about him.

Yes, she had long since grown beyond the stage of merely caring for the orange haired man. Sure originally it had just been a minor infatuation and admiration but that had quickly escalated. Part of this was undoubtedly due to her own power. As the **Emotion** allowed her affect other's emotions she also experienced those around her as well. This meant that she picked up on Ichigo's own feelings.

He was more than just a soldier, or commander. More than just royalty or an ever present source of inspiration and charisma that the others saw. Deep down he was just a normal teenager, with his own fears, doubts, and insecurities. He was secretly terrified of making a wrong decision, of costing someone their life due to his own mistakes. The nightmares that plagued his sleep were filled with his own failures and inabilities to help and save those he cared about. He was someone whose most treasured possessions were his family and friends.

Yet there was also a deep rooted bravery and determination within his soul. Something that she had never felt in any other Quincy. He was willing to throw everything he was, had been, and would be into a fight and would not back down from what he believed in no matter what the odds. He would fight to the death and beyond just to keep those he loved safe.

It filled the girl with nothing but hope for the future.

"I love you Ichigo"

It had been a whisper, so quiet that she herself wasn't even sure she had spoken it.

But he had heard it clear as day.

"And I you."

Her heart filled with an indescribable warmth. Everything would turn out okay after all.

 _***RitL***_

The following morning revealed the gathered host, assembled with their mission in mind. A mission of extermination and future peace.

The Sternritter chosen to lead the force stood above them, as if on podiums to be carried into battle. The sun was warm against their skin as Yhwach made his last few encouraging proclamations.

"Go forth my soldiers, my officers, my family. Go forth and cleanse the monsters that lurk in the shadows. Go forth and begin the process of creating a lasting peace, one where neither humans nor Quincy need to fear the night. Go forth and return victorious."

The army gave a triumphant cry

The Sternritter nodded

All advanced towards the gateway that had been setup to transport them into the hellish landscape they would be conquering.

 _***RitL***_

"What are your orders sir?"

Ichigo glanced over at one of the lesser officers chosen to command the bulk of his forces. "First things first we locate a secure area to set up camp."

Bazz-B almost looked offended, "Set up a secure location, create a camp? What kind of cowardly bullshit is that? We should find the nearest group of Hollows and start killing them!"

"And then what?"

The redhead looked shocked for a moment, not quite expecting that kind of reaction, "Wh-what?"

"What after that? Surely you have thought more than one step ahead correct? What happens when you have been killing all day and then become tired. Where will you rest and recuperate? Will you feel safe sleeping on the sand, in hostile territory? We are fighting monsters that are barely above animals, they will attack whenever they have the best chance at winning. They will throw hordes and hordes of their own at us just to wear down our soldiers and make the slaughter easier for them."

Most of the standard soldiers within hearing distance looked horrified at this claim, but the boy continued on. "War is like Chess we must think three moves ahead of what we are doing right now. First we setup camp and make sure that it is defensible, then we start looking for small groups of enemies to destroy. Kill enough ants and the hive will attack in full force. By the point that they are able to rally together we should be able to kill off the remaining Espada and Arrancar. Then we simply let their forces charge into our prepared defenses."

The way that he spoke, the confidence in his voice, the light in his eyes… they spoke of one who was cruel beyond belief. Of a killer that was willing to do anything and everything necessary to achieve victory.

It was a side of the orange haired boy that none of them, save one, had ever seen. The hatred that laid buried deep in his soul towards the creatures that were declared to be their enemies.

"I like that rock formation over there!" a happy voice broke the silence, eliciting glances from the other officers.

Irmine, in her infinite cheer, was pointing towards a rather odd group of colored rods sticking from the ground.

"Irmine that isn't a rock…" Adali attempted, hoping to use reason to convince the girl of her mistake.

But logic never works on a child so young. "That's because you don't have enough 'vision'."

"Vision?"

"Yep vision"

Ichigo seemed to glance between the noted location and the happy child standing nearby, before shrugging.

"Alright, let's see what we can do with it. From the information gathered there doesn't seem to be much else in terms of natural defenses so we will probably have to work on making our own anyways. There is to be no major offenses _until_ our camp is setup and fortified. That means on all four sides, above, and below."

Jugo nodded, before directing a group of engineers that had been provided for just this situation.

 _***RitL***_

Just as Ichigo had anticipated the number of Hollow attacks started out small but continued to grow through the day.

By nightfall the basic fortifications had been complete, and thus any further attacks had been thwarted for the time being, but the construction had gained the attention of those who currently controlled the former empire.

"Bah, look at these assholes. Setting up some stupid little town in the middle of _our_ desert."

"I do not recall it being any part _yours_ Grimmjow."

"Oh come on Nel don't be such a fun sucker, although if you are interested…"

"Pass" The green haired Arrancar growled back, already annoyed at the blue haired man and his pathetic attempts at flirting.

The feral man just shrugged, before returning his gaze to the monitor, "Suit yourself, I bet _his majesty_ will be all sorts of interested in this though."

"He already knows Grimmjow, you of all should be well aware of how finely tuned his senses are." The voice that called out revealed the dark skinned Espada entering the room, her eyes focused on the information before them.

"So what is his plan then? We charge in there, kick ass, and take names?"

"Hardly, he is currently raising all nearby Hollows and drafting them into our forces for the future assault. Our lord is not foolish enough to charge into a defensive position without a plan."

"Lame, whatever as long as I get to kill a couple of the bastards what do I care?"

The two females just rolled their eyes, focusing their attention back onto the video monitor.

 _***RitL***_

"What are your commands brother?"

Ichigo let out a sigh, already annoyed at having the blonde talk to him in such a formal method. "We are going to begin scouting out the enemy positions before we make any formal assault. I want to know what type of defenses to expect and their numbers. We know at least a few of the Espada survived so that will pose a problem as well."

"Very good, might I suggest using the Sternritter as the scouts? We will cover far more ground and be more effective in our observations than the average soldier."

The orange haired boy nodded in acceptance, before sweeping his gaze over his other officers. He wanted to ask for volunteers, but knowing them they would all do so anyway so he would be forced to choose regardless.

He needed two different teams, and already had one in mind. Glancing over he saw the pleading look in his girlfriend's eyes as she stared back at him. With a slightly reluctant sigh the commander nodded.

"Vanda I want you and Bambietta to patrol to the north, while Adali and Kort take the south. The rest will stay here for backup or defensive operations. If you do encounter strong enemy forces do not engage unless you are positive you can deal damage and still escape. There is plenty of time for offensive operations so we don't need anyone trying to get themselves killed."

The four nodded, before heading off in their separate directions. Despite his order Ichigo still felt a bit of reluctance toward the pair of females.

"Something wrong Ichigo?"

"No… I just have a bad feeling is all."

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

" _I don't know about this..." The blonde whispered nervously._

" _Come on just follow my lead. I promise nothing will happen to you okay?"_

" _Alright, I'll follow you."_

 _With that the two made their way forward, sticking to the elevated structures and shadows that might conceal them._

 _***Omake: If you know what I mean***_

"You know, for the invasion. Who are we going to be put in charge of, personally I wouldn't mind a few of the more... lovely... females at my beck and call if you know what I mean." Lutz noted with a creepy smile on his face.

"I think I could heat up their stockings... if you know what I'm saying." Bazz chimed in.

"Oh I think I could fire some arrows at them if you catch my drift." man's friend continued.

"I would definitely be interested in continuing a few bloodlines if you catch the cut of my jib."

"Showing them my full length bow _if_ you know what I mean."

"Teach them the true meaning 'Vollstandig' If you catch my meaning."

"Reveal _my_ spiritual weapon if you know what I'm saying."

By this point bother Ichigo and Jugo had left, leaving the two men to continue their _awful_ conversation.

"I want to show them what you can _really_ do with a mohawk... IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN."

"R is the 18th letter of the alphabet if you know what I am saaaaaayyyyyyyin."

***A/N***

*This roughly translates to 'Case Sunrise'.

Fun military fact, during WW2 the German's used what we would translate as 'case' as the name of their military operations. This is because they are viewed as 'solutions' to 'problems' that the army or country was facing.

To all of you who enjoyed Mask in this chapter, you may thank **blackpackager** for requesting his appearance. Originally I was just going to include him in Omakes but... well I needed a scientist and this just makes him so much more fun.

I deeply apologize for the Omake in this chapter... I don't know what the hell was wrong with me when writing that but... well this is what happens when I have a little too much free time when writing these.

 **Sternritter:**

A

B

C

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda

F

G **The Golem** Irmine

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I

J

K

L

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N

O

P

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz

S

T **The Thunder** Adali

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y

Z


	7. Divide

**Raised in the Light**

Divide

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"So where should we start Bambi-chan?"

The girl growled in response, "I would rather you _not_ call me that."

The bubbly girl tilted her head slightly in confusion, "But why not? Aren't we friends anymore?"

"We are it's just... things are different now. They have to be."

"Because of Ichigo?"

This brought the black haired Sternritter to a halt, glancing over in shock at her friend.

"I-I don't know what you mean..." The girl attempted at a lie. "This has nothing to do with..."

"Of course it does, it has _everything_ to do with him. We were friends up until I started dating him remember? But then... well we started growing apart. I didn't want us to but I realized that it was going to happen but now..." The blonde paused, forcing back the tears that were threatening to escape from her eyes.

'She isn't cut out for this.' Bambietta suddenly realized. Looking at her friend she realized for the first time how fragile the young girl truly was. 'If she can become so sad over the thought of losing a friend... how will she ever be able to take a life? Should she even be placed into that situation? To have someone so empathic forced to commit such cruelties is a cruelty in and of itself.'

"I'm sorry Vanda, I never realized how much our friendship meant to you. I promise I will try and do better. I should never have let my feelings, no matter what they might be, for a boy come between us."

The slightly younger girl gave a thankful nod. "I will try and do better about keeping Ichigo and my interactions to a minimum around you. I did not need to be rubbing it in your face that way. I was just so happy to be with him that I..."

"No need to apologize, if the situation was reversed I probably would have been doing the same thing whether I intended to or not."

"Friends?" Vanda offered her hand to shake the girl's as a 'peace offering'.

"Of course," Bambietta slowly, but surely, closed the distance between the two and gently gave the girl a slightly awkward hug.

 _***RitL***_

"What do you think we should do... your highness?"

The green eyed Arrancar paused for a moment, considering all of the options before him. Hueco Mundo had been invaded once more, only this time instead of a group of Humans and Shinigami it was an army of Quincy. A force that threatened their very existence.

It had to be dealt with, although this time it would be different.

The last 'invasion' had started when their previous master Aizen Sosuke ordered the kidnapping of a young human girl, Orihime.

This had brought her friends charging to to her rescue, which would later on lead to several Captain class Soul Reapers to make the journey as well. This resulted in several Espada casualties while the leaders of their group took the top Espada and journeyed to Soul Society in an attempt to claim victory there.

It had all been for naught.

Aizen and his cohorts had been defeated.

The Espada were nearly all killed.

Their Fraccion almost wiped out in the ensuing battle.

Even Ulquiorra himself was defeated, albeit it had taken several opponents combining forces to do so.

All that remained of their once glorious army was himself, Grimmjow, Harribel, Nelliel, and the blonde Espada's Fraccion.

It was a mere shadow of their former glory, hardly even a threat to the Shinigami, much less to this new empire that declared it's intentions mere days ago.

But Ulquiorra had learned from his previous mistakes. His eyes had been opened to the threats from the outside and those that dwelled there. Now that he had been placed in command. Due to achieving the second state of his Ressurreccion he was now the strongest Arrancar and thus lord over the others. He was forced to take all variables into consideration.

Thus he needed to be prepared for this invasion, and those that would undoubtedly follow. He had been hoping to gather more 'natural' Arrancar before being forced into battle, but life did not wait for it's inhabitants to be prepared before engaging them.

They would bring forth the unending hordes of Hollows and slaughter those who dared to come to their home seeking war.

The Arrancar had the home field advantage, they had superior numbers, they had superior officers in both power and experience, their information network was undoubtedly greater than their enemy's, and they had a fortified position already in place.

What did their foes have?

 _***RitL***_

Jugram gazed out over the fortified Quincy camp.

Their engineers had quickly blurred to work, setting up walls, gates, defensive positions, and even a floor to keep enemies from tunneling under them.

It was a good point to launch any future attacks from, and to weather and sort of assaults that the Arrancar might conceive of.

Not that the blonde was concerned about such things, he knew that none of the Espada could match the tactical skill of the Shinigami, much less the Quincy themselves. It was no secret that the Hollows had depended on sheer brute strength and overwhelming numbers for their survival.

Neither would save them this time.

The Quincy would finally exterminate the abominations that the Hollows represented, the threat to not only their own safety but also to that of the humans would finally be removed.

They had the strategy and the knowledge to utilize it. They had superior soldiers and officers of the highest caliper. The Sternritter were specifically chosen for their abilities to defeat the remaining Espada, and none could match him, much less his brother.

Ichigo was in a class apart from all others, more than likely he was capable of winning this conflict on his own. If not, then Jugo would be there beside him to help finish it.

Individually they were fearsome, near unbeatable warriors.

Together they could not be defeated, could not be opposed.

The Quincy had obtained hours of precious footage on the Arrancar, thanks to their shadow viewing technology.

They knew _exactly_ what their enemy was capable of, their strengths and weaknesses.

The Hollows barely even knew what a Quincy was, much less how to combat even the simplest of their techniques. They would rush forward in waves like they always had. And they would break upon their walls just as he predicted they would.

Even the Espada would be incapable of turning this tide, and soon they would be destroyed. The only evidence of their existence would be a chapter in the history books, telling of monsters attempting to better themselves, only to fail in this quest.

Yes soon this world would fall before them, and then they would move on to destroy the false defenders, the Shinigami themselves.

They would fall just as swiftly.

After all if God was with them who could be against them?

 _***RitL***_

"Hey Bambietta I need to talk to you about something."

The two girls had made a small camp for the night in a small corner formed by several oddly shaped structures in the desert. They had just started a fire to begin heating up their meal for the evening.

"Sure, what is it Vanda?"

"I don't want you to be upset or anything but... I sort of set us up as a team for this mission."

This brought the black haired girl, and the cooking that she was currently taking part in, to a halt. "What do you mean? Ichigo chose the..." Suddenly it made sense, their leader had seemed a bit hesitant at the time to pair them together. Not only that but the two of them didn't seem like the best team to be sent out on a scouting mission.

"Yeah he did, but I told him when we first arrived that I wanted some time alone with you. I wanted to clear up whatever was going on between us so that we could be friends again."

Bambietta let out a sigh, before rubbing the bridge of her nose to clear away the slowly building headache.

"Please don't be mad at me I just... I guess I am just being selfish."

"No you aren't, I just wish you would have found a less dangerous way of doing this Vanda. This isn't a game you know. We are in the middle of enemy territory."

"I know, but his majesty keeps talking about working together so I figured it would be a good chance to rebuild that cooperation between the two of us."

"Yeah I guess so, still we could have just had a slumber party or something when we got back..."

The blonde gave a happy squeal, and her friend immediately realized she had said the wrong thing. "Are you serious Bambi-chan? Do you want to have a slumber party when we get back!?"

Giving a defeated sigh the girl nodded, trying to hide the slight smile that was threatening to form on her face.

"Sure why not? Just remember though, if anyone asks it was your idea. I don't want anyone getting the idea that I am into that 'girly' stuff."

Vanda nodded happily, before going back to tending the dinner that they had agreed upon.

 _***RitL***_

The two female Quincy moved silently among the rubble that signified where the Shinigami had previously invaded Las Noches before a slight noise urged them to take cover.

"What do you think that was?" Vanda whispered out, as her companion narrowed her eyes.

Bambietta slowed her heart rate, before reaching out with her senses to the utmost degree as she had been taught. Soon she located the four remaining Espada, two of which seemed to be heading south while the other two were stationary.

"Bambi-chan I think we should get out of here. I remember reading that the traitor Aizen Sosuke setup an elaborate network of surveillance systems all around his domain. We might be spotted."

"So what?" The black haired girl hissed back, "even if we are then that just gives us the opportunity to remove the remaining Espada. Don't worry about anything Vanda we will be fine. Besides I want to get a closer look at their defenses and gathered soldiers. I can just barely detect a grouping of Hollows that is being masked by the fortress and the overlaying Arrancar."

"I don't know about this..." The blonde whispered nervously.

"Come on just follow my lead. I promise nothing will happen to you okay?"

"Alright, I'll follow you."

With that the two made their way forward, sticking to the elevated structures and shadows that might conceal them.

 _***RitL***_

"So what are your orders oh glorious leader?"

Ulquiorra sent a slight glare towards the blue haired Espada, obviously annoyed by his sarcasm. "Nelliel and Harribel have gone to handle the two that are near our primary force. You and I will deal with the two that are in the nearby vicinity."

"ALRIGHT SOME ACTION!"

"Focus Grimmjow, this is not the time to make stupid mistakes. We do not know what the enemy is completely capable of but if we can defeat four of their officers with no losses on our side it will severely hamper their abilities in any future conflict."

"Uhhhh..."

"Killing them before they kill us makes the war easier."

"Why the hell didn't you just say that?"

The green eyed Arrancar felt a slight eye twitch coming on, why couldn't it have been a different Espada who survived? One who was actually intelligent and could just follow orders rather than rushing ahead and...

The shorter man's musings were cut short, as he noticed that his subordinate had done just that, rushed ahead to confront the two agents he had detected near their compound.

Letting out a sigh the new lord of Hueco Mundo went to ensure that the other Espada was not killed in his battle.

 _***RitL***_

"This will need to be reported."

"Yeah I know." The male Sternritter gave out a deep sigh. "But it is such a loooong way back from here. Why couldn't the commander have given me an easier job? Like keeping watch or something."

Adali resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the lazy man. It had only been a day and yet it had felt like a week being stuck with the whiny knight.

"Regardless of your feelings about the journey the information _needs_ to be received by our commander. This large of a Hollow force is bound to be destined for our camp."

"Probably, man why couldn't Erna have been sent along with us? She would have made this sooooo much easier."

"True, but I am sure Commander Ichigo had his reasons."

"Commander Ichigo eh? Sounds like someone is either itching for a promotion or... scratching another itch of hers."

"Rest assured it is neither of those two things. I admire his ability to lead is all."

"Uh huh surrrrre." the man added with a smirk.

"Regardless of what your perverted mind might come up with I have no such feelings towards..."

"HA SEE I TOLD YOU I WAS RIGHT!"

The two Quincy sweat dropped at the pathetic attempt to sneak up on them, before turning to face the three Arrancar.

"Yes yes Apacci very good, you managed to find the spies. Now all we need to do is apprehend them and..."

"And Lady Harribel will promote me to the head Fraccion! You are so right Mila Rose."

Cyan rolled her eyes at the other two Arrancar's antics, before facing their adversaries.

"So you two must be part of the invading army. If you surrender peacefully we can promise that your deaths will be quick."

"Ah man that is such a hassle, plus then our commander will probably get upset with me for giving up so easily and his majesty will hear about it and then..."

"WHO THE HELL CARES YOU ASSHOLE! Alright girls let's break this jerk's face!"

"I will warn you three only once, you do not possess the power necessary to defeat my comrade or myself. If you attempt to force this confrontation, then you _will_ be destroyed." the blonde woman calmly called out.

"You come to our home and make threats? I can promise you this, you two will not be walking away from this place alive." the dark skinned woman growled out, before unsheathing her Zanpakuto along with her two allies.

The only male present gave another exasperated sigh, "I told you that my plan would end like this but nooooo someone just _had_ to insist that we lure out the enemy officers to get rid of them. Now look what you've done."

"Kort, it is time to show these three what it means to face a Quincy."

 _***RitL***_

Divide and conquer

It was what had destroyed the Arrancar forces the first time, now it might just prove to be their salvation.

Ulquiorra had been well aware of the strategy, having faced it during the last invasion, and now he hoped to apply it to his enemies instead.

He remembered _exactly_ how effective it had been against him.

 _***Flashback***_

"So you must be the invaders I have received so many reports on."

"Where is our friend? I swear if you hurt Orihime then we will…"

"What exactly? The two of you together barely managed to defeat Grimmjow. I can assure you that you stand no chance against me."

"That's what he said right before we smashed his dumb face in, you won't be any different." The black haired girl shot back in irritation.

"You are too young to understand the difference between us, take your sister and leave."

"Not without Orihime!" the girl's twin sister shot back.

"Very well then, it seems that we are at an impasse. I will not surrender the girl and you will not leave without her. Prepare yourselves."

The two girls nodded, before unsheathing their swords and activating _Shikai_.

The blonde wielded a strangely crystal-like blade, with colors dancing around inside. Almost like it was made of glass.

Her sister, on the other hand, had a sword that was pitch black, as dark as the night sky.

"Yuzu cover me"

The blonde nodded, while her sister charged in.

'Impressive speed' The Espada noted, as he neatly dodged away from the horizontal slash, only to find the girl once again within striking range. 'Still the one to look out for would be…'

" _Path of Destruction number thirty-one Shakkaho!"_

'Her' the man mused, before forcing to use _Sonido_ to dodge the impending red blast.

Just as he landed he ducked underneath another heavy blow from the dark haired girl, before blocking a vicious kick that she lashed out with.

'This explains why Grimmjow faired so poorly against them, keeping their skills hidden until the most opportune time is quite impressive.'

Pushing back the Arrancar launched his opponent away, before flashing towards the blonde.

He easily pushed aside her blade, noting that until her sister she was far weaker physically. Before he could follow up with any sort of finishing blow he was forced to dodge out of the way from a vicious slash by a spikey haired Captain.

"WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT NOW? Two of my favorite sparring partners have a second opponent!? Now that doesn't seem fair to me at all!"

"Indeed Zaraki it does not. Nor does it seem 'fair' that you are allowed two of your own either."

"Oh? Is that a limp I see Kuchki? What's wrong, have a rough date last night?"

Byakuya sent an icy glare towards his fellow Captain, just as Rukia, Renji, Chad, Tatsuki, and Uryu arrived on scene as well.

'Quite bothersome with so many opponents. The only two that are _truly_ a threat though are the Captains. Not only that but they are both injured and weakened from their fights with the other Espada. Once Yammy shows up…'

"Where is the female Captain? Shouldn't she be here healing you two?" the Quincy pointed out, earning glares from the two men.

"Like I need her help! I am just fine and she knows…"

"Captain Unohana is currently dealing with the other Espada in the area, the large bald one." The Sixth Division Captain noted, earning himself a scowl from the Eleventh Captain.

"Ah, well I suppose all of us together should be able to put this one down fairly quickly and move on to deal with Aizen then."

"HELL YEAH, LET'S KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES!" Renji exclaimed in excitement, before charging forward.

His _Shikai_ was immediately caught by the pale man, who delivered a powerful kick to his stomach and tossed him backwards a dozen feet.

"Do not think yourself to already have succeeded in this battle, I assure you that none of you shall survive to challenge lord Aizen" The green eyed Arrancar called out in a threatening tone, before raising his spiritual pressure dramatically.

" _Enclose_ "

 _***End Flashback***_

From there the fight had continued on at a frightening pace. Eventually the Espada was even forced to use his 'trump card' and activate _Segunda Etapa_.

This power had forced all but the Shinigami from the battle, the others not being strong enough to actually stand up under the pressure.

Even so the six had managed, despite all odds, to defeat him.

Most curious of all though, was that the girl whom he had kidnapped had asked them to spare his life. She had claimed that there would be enough death in this war and that if there was even a chance to save lives then they should take it.

The twins had, remarkably, agreed.

Thus Ulquiorra had been defeated, and spared, all in the same battle. He had been taught humility, and even caught a glimpse of what humans called 'the heart'. Most important, at this moment at least, was that he had been taught a very valuable lesson about warfare.

Sometimes quantity _did_ overshadow quality. If the enemy was numerous enough they could find a way to win despite being against overwhelming odds.

 _***RitL***_

"Brother you need to stop pacing."

Ichigo glanced backwards, noticing that he had indeed worn a small path in the sand.

"I'm just worried all right? They should have reported in by now."

"I agree, however working yourself up like this is not going to help the situation. Also if I am being honest it is beginning to become quite irritating."

The orange haired boy smiled a bit, knowing that the blonde was just trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah I know; you are probably right it's just... damnit why didn't I send groups of three?"

"Because you needed to keep a reserve force here should the enemy attack."

"Oh yeah like the two of us would _need_ a reserve force. You and I both know we could probably kill the remaining four Espada on our own if pushed into the situation."

"I am aware of that. I would also like to remind you that father did _not_ want us taking such actions. He wants the others to obtain battle experience and teamwork. Neither of those are attainable if we fight the war ourselves."

Ichigo pouted, knowing that his brother was indeed correct, "Still should have sent three on each group." the boy grumbled, before resuming his pacing.

A few minutes later, and a rather annoyed glare from his 'lieutenant' halted the boy, who sat down next to the blonde to try and calm himself.

"They will be fine brother... _she_ will be fine."

"I know, she can handle herself and she is with Bambietta, if something goes wrong we will see and hear the explosions."

"Indeed, she is hardly the definition of 'subtle'. It does raise the question though of why you sent her on this mission."

Ichigo looked down, a bit ashamed of his answer, before muttering it out. "Vanda asked me to."

"Brother..."

"Yeah I know what you are going to say, it is the same thing father would if he were here. 'Ichigo you should never put personal feelings into military judgments, it is both dangerous and irresponsible to not only you but those involved.'."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because... damnit I don't know! Vanda wanted to spend some time with Bambietta so that they could get back to being friends, besides I figured it _might_ help with their teamwork and... well you know."

"You are letting your emotions influence your decisions brother, this is not a good idea."

"Yeah I know, next time you see me doing something this stupid smack the back of my head and knock some sense into me."

"I will keep that in mind."

Ichigo stared into the distance, a bad feeling in his gut once more. "I just pray they all come back, if something happens because of me..."

"Then we will deal with the situation when it comes up. Do not stress brother, it will not help the situation at hand. For now, you need to need to focus on other things and stay busy."

Ichigo nodded, before standing up and moving to check over the plans for the future invasion of the Arrancar stronghold.

 _***RitL***_

"Well well well well look what we have here."

The two girls immediately leapt backwards, putting distance between themselves and the blue haired Arrancar.

"So what's this? A couple of spies sneaking around our castle eh? Looks like someone should teach you two a lesson."

"Just try it freak, I will be happy to torch you and that pasty ass Arrancar behind you as well."

Grimmjow gave a feral smile, before placing his hand onto his blade. "Just give the world your highness and I will be happy to put these two bitches in their place."

"Make it quick, if their allies decide to send reinforcements then we will need to be prepared."

The savage man grinned, before sprinting forward at full speed.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

" _Take care of him"_

" _Wh-what are you talking about?"_

" _I-I-Ichigo is going to... blame... himself..." Again the girl's conversation was interrupted by her gasps and coughing up of the bright red fluid that was filling her lungs._

 _***Omake: Secrets of Youth***_

"WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN TO THE FIRST OF MY SEVENTEEN PART SERIES: _STAYING YOUNG AND FIT WITH THE MAGNIFICENT MASK!_ I AM YOUR HOST, MASK! AND THIS IS MY EAGER YOUNG COMPANION! SAY HELLO JAMES!"

The young boy happily smiled, "Hello James!"

"AN INCREDIBLE INSTRODUCTION BY OUR YOUNG FAN! NOW THEN LET US BEGIN SHALL WE!? THE FIRST STEP TO STAYING AS YOUNG AND FIT AS MYSELF IS TO PLAN OUT YOUR DAILY ROOOOOOOUTINE!"

With that the man promptly leapt across the room, crashing into a wall and revealing a chalkboard conveniently placed behind it.

"NOW THEN LET ME BEGIN BY EXPLAINING HOW TO SCHEDULE THIS!"

As the man began shouting various things Bazz-B turned to the Quincy lord. "Ummm your majesty, do we have to sit through this... presentation?"

"Yes"

"Surely there must be something else we could be doing with our time," The man pleaded, gesturing towards the other Sternritter who were gathered as well. "Training perhaps, or maybe stra... strate... planning stuff?"

"This is very important to the future war effort... and don't call me surely."

"But sir... when would this _ever_ be important?"

"I follow his exercise plan every day. How do you think I am still alive after a thousand years?"

This brought the mohawked man to a halt, his mind trying to process exactly what was just said.

Meanwhile...

"AND NOW WE GET TO THE PHYSICAL EXERCISE PORTION! YOU SEE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE MUSCLES LIKE THESE." With that the man flexed, his arms and chest being so muscular that they began to create cracks in reality itself with the force of their sheer epic. "YOU MUST FOLLOW A VERY SIMPLE WORKOUT. EVERYDAY YOU MUST DO ONE HUNDRED PUSH UPS, ONE HUNDRED SIT UPS, ONE HUNDRED SQUATS, AND RUN TEN KILOMETERS!"

"Mister you are so amazing! I wish someday to be as incredible as you!"

"A NOBLE GOAL YOUNG JAMES! AND I SHALL HELP YOU ON THIS QUEST. IF I CANNOT DO THAT THEN I SHALL CHOP DOWN THE MIGHTIEST TREE IN THE FOREST WITH..."

Suddenly the door opened, drawing the attention from all assembled.

In walked a raven haired boy with strange black eyes.

"AH ITACHI UCHIHA TO WHAT DO WE OWE THE..."

"My name is Sasuke. Itachi is my brother."

"AH MY MISTAKE, HOW EVER COULD I HAVE CONFUSED YOU WITH YOUR CLEARLY SUPERIOR IN EVERY WAY SHAPE AND FORM BROTHER IS AN ERROR I MUST TRULY APOLOGIZE FOR!"

The young Uchiha growled in annoyance, before getting back to business. "I am here to inform you that only a 'Lord Gin Ichimaru' is allowed to make Naruto references. Any other characters attempting to do so in an Omake will be met with heavy fines."

"B-B-B-BUT... THAT IS SO UNYOUTHFUL OF YOU!"

"That will be 'shifty-five' thousand dollars... seriously who the hell made up this number? Whatever it was probably Kiba or something. Anyway I am just the messenger because the author was trying to think of an ironically 'important' character to use for this meaningless task... I hate everyone."

With that the young avenger left, but not before taking a small bill for the copyright infringement and placing it on the door.

***A/N***

Seriously though... I have no idea what is wrong with me when I write these Omakes...

As many of you probably noticed I am not going to just do a single recap of everything that happened in the 'non Quincy' storyline. Instead it will be filled in along the way. Originally I had a single section where everything was 'viewed' by the Quincy but it just felt too dull and insignificant after I wrote it out. I like this way much more.

The story will _eventually_ be Ichigo x Bambietta.

Next chapter will have considerably more action, I promise.

Until then I hope everyone is enjoying the story!

 **Sternritter:**

A

B

C

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda

F

G **The Golem** Irmine

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I

J

K

L

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N

O

P

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz

S

T **The Thunder** Adali

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y

Z


	8. Conquer

**Raised in the Light**

Conquer

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

A terrible foreboding filled Harribel as she raced across the desert with her companion close behind. She had sent her Fraccion to oversee the primary army of Hollows that would be used against the invaders, trusting them, to be able to direct and organize the force by themselves.

What she hadn't counted on was the enemy sending two of their officers to the area. The three females were powerful, she had no doubts of that, but whether or not they could defeat two enemies of unknown strength was another matter entirely.

Luckily for her Nel was more than willing to join her in her quest to protect those she cared about. It came as no surprise really, considering that the green haired beauty's own servants had been taken from her during the previous conflict when the enemy Shinigami Captains had arrived.

It had ignited a flame of hatred in the young woman that burned with an intensity that none had taken lightly.

Suddenly the dark skinned woman felt a burst of energy from her followers.

They had activated their _Resurreccions_ , meaning that they were losing the fight.

She accelerated, leaving her companion shouting behind her to slow down.

But the blonde woman wouldn't, or couldn't, at this point. Her mind replayed the images of their burnt figures during the invasion. The fear that she had lost them.

She would not let it happen again.

 _***RitL***_

Bambietta leapt backwards, avoiding the powerful blow that cratered the structure she had been standing on.

Cursing she glanced over to her companion, who was trying to alleviate the assault with a hail of arrows. Unfortunately for the two women their adversary was far too fast and agile to sustain any real damage.

Even worse was that the other Espada had been shouting out advice as the battle had continued on. The pale shorter man had immediately recognized Bambietta as the offensive member of the pair while Vanda was the support.

Normally this would have been okay, having the enemy focus on others besides the blonde girl meant her powers had time to take full effect and manipulate them to their advantage.

But it seemed as though Grimmjow was immune to her power, or at least resistant enough that he hadn't suffered any noticeable deterioration in ability.

Vanda was supposed to use her powers against the Shinigami, those that needed to remain calm and composed in order to wield their abilities and _Kido_ to the fullest. Considering that Hollows were mostly instinct and emotion to begin with gave the Arrancar a natural protection against her it seemed.

Thus the situation was as such: Vanda trying to draw attention away from her comrade, Bambietta trying to form some concept of a counter attack, and Grimmjow attempting to rip the black haired girl to pieces.

At this point the Espada was having the most success in his plans, as the stronger Quincy had already taken a few close calls and minor injuries.

Ulquiorra had so far stayed out of the conflict, content with allowing the feral man to have his battle it seemed. That was the only bright side to this situation, otherwise they would both have been dead by now.

Suddenly the pursued girl was struck by inspiration, and launched a dozen explosive projectiles out around her.

The Arrancar nearly charged into the trap, having been so closely pursuing her at the time, only his instincts saved him at the last moment as he pushed backwards to avoid the explosive force.

Bambietta herself was slightly bruised from the resulting shock wave, but had accounted for this and gained a large amount of distance by allowing herself to be thrown backwards farther than normal.

"Bah coward"

"Grimmjow it is not cowardly to seek a tactical advantage against an enemy. I am fairly impressed that she was willing to sacrifice damage onto herself in order to gain a reprieve from your assault."

"Eh whatever, she is still a cowardly bitch if you ask me."

Meanwhile the two girls had regrouped, watching closely as their enemies interacted.

"Any ideas Bambi-chan?"

"Working on it… we need an exit strategy though, if just one of them is beating us then the former fourth Espada will kill us for sure."

The blonde nodded in agreement, before returning her gaze to their opponent.

 _***RitL***_

"So this is the creature known as Ayon." Kort muttered as the two Quincy witnessed the birth of the horrific Hollow creation.

"It is just as the reports mentioned, incredibly strong and near invulnerable."

The man looked over to the blonde woman, before returning his analytical gaze towards the creature.

"This is going to make things quite a bit more irritating. Not only that but with this they are sure to have alerted the higher ups. We should make our departure now while we have the chance to do so."

"I agree, but first let us at least take out the Fraccion. No reason to leave behind enemy soldiers, especially ones this powerful."

"I do not think that is wise but as you wish."

A moment passed, before the monster roared out and the blonde haired woman glanced over at her companion, "So?" she questioned.

"So what?"

"I assume you have a plan to deal with this?"

"Why do I have to make the plans? You were the one who wanted to fight them so badly. I think you should have to figure out the tactic."

"Normally I would be fine with this, but considering how simplistic my power is compared to yours I believe you have the advantage in terms of complexity."

The man grumbled, before coming up with a fairly simple solution. "Alright this is fairly simple but should work regardless. Take out one or more of the Arrancar and I should be able to break down the creature from there."

The remaining Quincy nodded, before summoning forth her bow, which was zigzagged in the shape of a lightning bolt. A second later she dodged out of the path of the large creature's charge before firing an electrified arrow towards one of their three opponents.

 _***RitL***_

Vanda only hoped that they would live long enough for her to regret not taking her combat exercises more seriously.

True she had always been planning on having a 'backup' or 'support' role in the conflict but that was certainly no excuse for not being able to help her friend in a more effective manner.

She should have been asking her lover for training, she knew he would have agreed in a heartbeat... if only she had asked.

As of now both Bambietta and herself were moderately injured, while their opponent was only lightly so. It was embarrassing for them to be so outclassed by a single Espada, and he wasn't even the strongest of those remaining by the reports she had glanced over.

"Come on get back up! This is becoming boring with how badly you two are getting your asses kicked. I wanted a decent fight not a one-sided beat down!"

Her black haired friend scowled at the Arrancar before them. The blonde herself would have as well, if it didn't bring attention to how much the last strike had bloodied her face.

She was certain that Ichigo would have grimaced if he could see her at this point, which brought a pain to her heart at the thought.

Now she could only hope that they would live to see him again.

 _***RitL***_

By the time the two female Espada had arrived all three of Harribel's Fraccion had been killed. It appeared as though after Adali killed Apacci the other two had tried to avenge her, not realizing that with her death Kort was able to take control of the beast and dissolve it back to its original state.

Without their trump card the remaining two Arrancar were swiftly put to death.

Tier had immediately used _Sonido_ to rush over to their side, desperately checking for any signs of life.

Meanwhile the two Quincy watched on, observing her and Nelliel but making no signs of movement or aggression.

"You are going to pay for this." The dark skinned woman growled out in rage.

"They were close to you?"

"My first friends, practically sisters to me!"

"I was unaware that Hollows formed such attachments." Adali noted with a slight sadness in her voice, before stepping closer to her comrade. "Kort, get back to the camp and report what we found. They appear to be preparing for an assault in the next day at most. I will buy you time."

"Not without you." The man shot back, eliciting a slight chuckle from the female. "What the hell is so funny?"

"Just the fact that you are so lazy and yet so loyal at the same time. Perhaps in another life time we could have been friends. Regardless though we will not be able to escape both of them. I made the mistake of assuming that they would not have any emotional attachments and I will pay for that. You, however, need to live on. Your abilities will be far more useful in the upcoming war than mine will ever be."

The male looked ready to argue back, but was silenced by the woman who gazed at the two Espada before them. "Go, before they attack."

With a reluctant nod, and a whispered thank you the man departed. Though he did not look back he would remember the actions of the woman who saved his life, and this would define his future.

 _***RitL***_

Bambietta saw the attack coming before it impacted. She knew that she would never be able to dodge it in time though.

Their adversary had activated his enhanced form, increasing his already formidable speed, after a particularly close call with an explosive barrage she had fired.

Even with that it hadn't been enough.

She was close to simply saying to hell with the orders and activate her Vollstandig anyway. If they died what did it matter if their enemy knew about their second state? Secretly though she knew what the outcome would be. If they gained any kind of advantage over the Arrancar then the other Espada would step in and they would be defeated despite any small advantage they would gain.

The only problem was she might kill her ally in the process. Her powers were simply too all-consuming to be used in the presence of an ally, yet another reason she had faired so badly up until this point. She was forced to considerably tone down her power to avoid collateral damage.

The man's claws seemed to move ever closer to her chest, the world slowing down to a snail's pace as if to taunt her with all the time she had to contemplate the potential options, all of which would fail.

No matter what it seemed as though they would die in this hellish place.

So many things would be left unsaid, so many regrets that the black haired girl would take to her grave.

Just as Grimmjow was about to impale her with his bare hand Bambietta felt herself being pushed to the side, another person slamming into her, and thus saving her life.

What happened next she could only describe as horrific. Watching as the girl who only wanted to be her friend saved her life, and then received the devastating blow for her.

Watching as a bloody arm ripped through her torso, forcing blood out of her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes from the pain.

Listening to her cry of pain.

The Arrancar barely had time to withdraw his arm and leap backwards to avoid the enraged barrage from the Quincy at watching her friend fall.

Bambietta caught the blonde before she reached the ground, setting her gently down to comfort her in the inevitable final moments. Yet still she held onto a delusional hope.

"It... it will be okay Vanda-chan... don't worry, we will get you back home and heal you right up and have that slumber party you always wanted."

The girl smiled, blood starting to drip from her mouth as tears flowed down her face, mixing with those falling from Bambietta's eyes.

"Y-yeah s-sounds like..." a horrific coughing sound came from her throat as she attempted to draw breath. "Fun"

"J-just hold on okay? I will stop the bleeding and..."

"Bambi-chan p-promise me... s-something?"

"Anything"

"Take care of him"

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

"I-I-Ichigo is going to... blame... himself..." Again the girl's conversation was interrupted by her gasps and coughing up of the bright red fluid that was filling her lungs.

The dying girl reached out, pointing directly towards Ulquiorra, who raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Vollstandig _:_ _ **God's unending love**_ "

She had always known that there was a chance her powers would not work, or would have unintended consequences when used on a creature such as a Hollow, but this was the only way she could save her friend, the only chance Bambietta had.

Vanda's normal power bestowed by Yhwach allowed her to manipulate emotions and sense them in return. Her true form enhanced that to the point of being near mind controlling levels. She could instill an emotion upon someone that would not have been there before. Thus she gave the pale man, unknowingly, what he had always desired.

Love

The Quincy allowed him to see what human's called 'the heart' and focused this new emotion on her friend to as high of levels as possible. It would be the only chance for the black haired girl to escape alive.

Her thoughts were cut short as she coughed up more blood, and her comrade continued trying to save her life. She gave her friend one last reassuring smile

"You can take care of him yourself Vanda-chan, you are going to be okay do you hear me! You are going to..."

Though the blonde was smiling her eyes had dimmed as she left the world.

 _***RitL***_

"I must say it is surprisingly noble of you to stay behind while your friend leaves."

"I appreciate you letting him go unhindered."

"Your Reiatsu is the one coating their injuries, it is obvious that might grudge is with you not him."

The Quincy nodded, glancing over at the fallen female Fraccion. "I know it does not mean much now but... they died honorably. I was not expecting such a fierce fight, nor such loyalty and teamwork from your kind."

Harribel nodded slightly in a mixture of appreciation and respect. "From their injuries I can tell that they did not suffer and I thank you slightly for that. Of course it will not prevent me from killing you but I will take it into consideration."

"I would not have presumed otherwise. I have dealt you an emotional blow that I did not anticipate. I fully intend to accept the consequences of my actions."

The Espada drew her blade, before activating her Resurreccion. " _Destroy_ "

"Ironic that one of the reasons I was chosen was that I would be a good opponent for you."

"Then do not let me down Quincy, at least prove that you were worthy of defeating my friends."

With that the water master charged forward, launching a wave with her newly formed weapon.

 _***RitL***_

"Well that's one down now all that's left is to…"

"Enough Grimmjow, let her go."

"Wh-what!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"

"I said let her go, she is no threat to us and is not worth the time killing."

Secretly the green eyed man was feeling emotions he never thought possible, a massive urge to protect and shelter the living girl before him, a desire to keep her away from the conflict and hold her tightly.

"YOU CAN'T BE FUCKING SERIOUS! SHE IS AN ENEMY AND…"

Ulquiorra spiked his spiritual pressure, eliciting a wince from the blue haired man. "Are you questioning my orders?"

"N-no it's just that…"

"Good, then do as I command. Go and recover from your injuries, I sense that part of our army is preparing to move out so we must ready our own forces to move in sync."

"Yeah sure whatever." The feral man stomped off angrily, muttering about crazy Arrancar.

Bambietta held her gaze on the shorter Espada, still weary of any traps or deceits.

"You need not fear me, take your fallen and return to your home. We will not pursue you. I hope that we can meet again under… better conditions."

The pale man turned and left, shaking his head to try and get a grasp on why he was acting so strangely. It was not like him at all.

The remaining Quincy quickly recovered from her shock, and after wrapping her friend in cloth began to make her way back to safety, back to where she would have to explain what had happened… and beg for forgiveness.

 _***RitL***_

Elsewhere Ichigo halted in his discussion with his brother, staring off into the distance as if he felt something.

"Something wrong brother?"

"I… don't know…"

"Do you sense an enemy?"

"No… it feels like loss and sadness. It is hard to describe."

Jugo nodded slowly, focusing his own senses to detect anything that might be out of place. It was rather difficult to do since none of them were used to sensing spiritual presences in Hueco Mundo. With the difference in atmosphere and lack of life it constantly felt… wrong.

"I am sure it will be fine."

"Yeah you're right. Alright so let's go over these open field battle plans again."

 _***RitL***_

Adali knew it was never going to be an easy fight but to be so obviously outclassed was not something she could get used to.

Even with her power over thunder and lightning the Espada had only taken light damage. Of course she did have her own secret power to tap into but… she had been cautioned not to use it so hastily.

Still if the Quincy could remove one of the Espada, a high ranking member at that, then it would be worth it in the end.

Her mind made up the woman dodged another series of water bullets before activating her own true power in a flash of light.

"Vollstandig _:_ _ **The Light of God**_ "

The dark skinned woman's eyes opened wide in shock as she beheld the wings, which looked more like thunder clouds, and the halo, which appeared to be made of electricity, that now adorned her adversary. "Impressive, perhaps you will manage to draw blood on me yet."

The Quincy merely extended her hand, calling forth a massive blast of lightning from the sky and forcing the Arrancar to dodge wildly in order to avoid damage.

'It will not be enough' The Sternritter mused sadly, as she continued calling down bolts of lightning.

'Even with this power increase and the ability to hit from various angles I will not be able to defeat this woman. She is in a league above me. Though my improved form is powerful it simply expands my current powers. With her control over water she can strike in ways I cannot imagine.'

Sure enough a moment later water ripped forth from the ground, completely surrounding the woman and forcing her to fly up into the air to avoid damage.

Harribel had been waiting for it though, and had already used _Sonido_ to appear behind her in an attempt to split her in two.

What she hadn't realized was that there was another feature to the woman's _Vollstandig._

Her sword passed through air as electricity coursed through the Espada's body. At the last moment the Quincy had shifted her body into pure electricity, avoiding any damage and causing some in retaliation.

"Impressive…" the woman commended, as she took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

"Thank you, it is one of the few ways that my powers actually change from my normal state.

"That will severely limit my abilities against you. Most of my attacks will now backfire on me."

"That was the idea yes."

"Unfortunately it does not limit this…"

Once again the Espada vanished, only to appear mid swing behind the Quincy who began to shift forms once more.

What she had not counted on, was the wave of yellow energy that tore through her as the dark skinned female called out her attack.

" _Cero_ "

 _***RitL***_

"Commander!"

"Kort, what are you doing here? Where is Adali?"

"She... didn't make it... I am sorry sir, she stayed behind so that I could escape and bring you this information. The Hollows have gathered a massive force and prepare to be readying for an assault along our southern flank."

The man looked like he was moments from falling over from exhaustion, along with being covered in dirt and sand.

Ichigo's saddened expression upon hearing of the death of his officer turned hard a moment later.

"Go and get some rest and food. I want a full report of what happened in four hours. Bazz-B get the first and second regiments ready for defensive combat. Jugo I want you to send out a few scouts to the North, East, and West to ensure we are not going to be hit with a surprise attack."

The men snapped into action, acting on the orders given without hesitation. Their commander had settled into a persona that few had ever seen him in, one of a tactician and general above all else.

 _***RitL***_

"Nel have the army move into position while I finish off this battle." Harribel commanded, earning a slight nod from the green haired woman.

The other blonde chuckled humorlessly, while coughing up a bit of blood. "I guess I wasn't up to your standard even with my abilities."

"Do not be so hard on yourself. I am more than a match for most Shinigami Captains. For you to injure me even to this extent is fairly impressive."

She nodded, but still felt as though she had failed in the end. She had been chosen by the Quincy lord for her potential... and she had let everyone down. She couldn't even manage to defeat the Espada that everyone assumed she would kill without problem.

How pathetic

"It is the end for you Quincy, I shall grant you a swift warriors death for allowing my friends the same."

She would have protested, but with her vision starting to fade Adali knew her end was near regardless.

The last image that ran through her head were of a charismatic young orange haired man, declaring that he could 'see something special in her'.

She died with a smile on her face.

 _***RitL***_

"Jugo what were the results of our preemptive strike?"

"Better than expected brother, the gathering was disrupted and the enemy has begun advancing on us before any other enemy forces could join up with them. A rather ingenious strategy I must say."

Ichigo merely shrugged, "What can I say, I know a thing or two about pissing people off."

Before the blonde man could reply with a sarcastic comment the youngest Sternritter interrupted them. "Sir, it appears as though the enemy outnumbers us three to one, this should be a relatively easy battle considering our preparations and their lack of strategy." Irmine called out, earning a nod from the orange haired boy.

"Very well, keep the Sternritter back on the off chance that there are any Arrancar hidden among their forces. Let them enter range and then let loose the bombardment."

The young girl nodded, before heading off to inform the soldiers.

Ichigo watched her sadly as she moved with just a bit less excitement than she normally had. He knew that the poor girl was taking the news of Adali's death hard, although she was doing rather well at hiding it.

Just as she had predicted the Hollow force charged forward, with seemingly little concept other than overrunning the defensive structures.

Unfortunately for them the Quincy more were than prepared for such an offensive, and had dug a massive series of pits and trenches to slow their advance and disrupt the primary rush.

Once they had cleared the first row, after taking light casualties from the spikes and traps that had been set, Ichigo ordered his soldiers to open fire.

Arrows blanketed the sky and streaked across the sand in a hail of withering fire. The first grouping of monsters across the entire front was torn to pieces before they could even manage to warn those behind them.

By the time the new lead Hollows had realized the danger they were in, and had taken some sort of cover behind the fallen and few obstacles that remained, the projectiles began to rain down upon them as well, eliminating many of those who would have had a chance to retaliate at range against the defenders.

Hollows were slaughtered by the hundreds, while the Sternritter officers watched on with emotionless faces.

 _***RitL***_

"You were one of my first friends you know… no one else even tried to talk to me when I arrived here."

The black haired girl chuckled at the silence.

"But there you were, all happy and smiling like it was the best day of your life. Hell I don't think I ever saw you do anything _but_ smile. Except for when others were sad. Was that part of your abilities as well? Were you gifted such happiness?"

Still the silence dragged on.

"If that's true I am envious, hell I have always been a bit jealous of you. Making friends seemed so easy when you did it but… well I am kind of a bitch aren't I? I have criticized and yelled at anyone who has even _tried_ to befriend me and yet… and yet you still kept trying… just like Ichigo."

Again she chuckled, pausing for a moment to adjust the object she was carrying.

"You two were made for each other… and I guess that was one of the reasons I was so mean to both of you. It upset me that you two could be so… comfortable together and… I guess you were right." The woman paused, glancing up into the sky and taking a deep breath in preparation, "I do care about him."

She then broke down laughing, almost dropping the sheet wrapped article in the process.

"Lucky you are so damn light, seriously how the hell could you constantly eat junk food, end up with curves like that, and _still_ weigh practically nothing… bitch." The last insult had no anger to it, but instead was filled with a bit of envy and humor.

"Still I will keep my promise to you no matter what. I know exactly what you mean. He is going to be devastated when he…"

Bambietta fell down into the sand, allowing her friend's body to fall from her arms as well.

"Why… why did you have to die Vanda? Why couldn't you have just let me die instead? Why did you…"

Her sobs echoed through the empty desert.

 _***RitL***_

"Sir…"

Ichigo gave a 'hm' in question before glancing up at his officer. The man looked rather pale for some reason.

"What is it?"

"There appears to be a figure approaching through the desert, one of ours it looks like."

The orange haired man leapt from his seat, excitement and anxiety filling him. It was either Adali or one of the other girls.

As the commander ran through the camp towards where the man had directed him he froze in horror.

Before him stood Bambietta, cradling a person sized clothed object to her chest.

"I-I-I am so sorry Ichigo… I… she saved me and… I am so sorry."

The poor girl fell to her knees in exhaustion, barely holding the body out to him.

He slowly stepped forward, and took the weight from the woman, before gently moving the coverings from her face.

His lover's pale face.

His world froze. All of his mistakes, faults, and fears threatening to shatter his mind.

"Brother I…"

The blonde's voice snapped him back to reality. He couldn't afford to break down now, not in front of everyone. Not when they were at war.

He could grieve later, now was the time for calm decisions. He owed it to Vanda.

"MEDIC!"

Instantly several Quincy ran forward.

"I-Ichigo sh-she isn't…" The black haired girl tried to explain, but was interrupted.

"Take Bambietta to the medical bay for recovery, she is still bleeding and appears exhausted. Do not let her out until either myself or Jugo allow it."

The men nodded, before gently leading the crying girl off.

"Sir what should we do with…"

Ichigo ignored the soldier, grimly carrying the body off to store it for travel back to their home. She would not be buried in Hueco Mundo, no Quincy ever would.

 _***RitL***_

A day later the commander walked into the medical ward to find the injured girl.

Bambietta looked up, with a deep sadness in her eyes, at the emotionless gaze of the man before her.

"Who?"

The question needed no explanation, there was only one answer.

"Grimmjow"

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _The Quincy, even the other Sternritter, had been stunned into silence. They merely stared at the man as he walked back with his brother._

" _Today no Quincy dies" he declared, before giving a slightly annoyed glance at the masked Bambietta. "We move on the Espada next, Irmine stay here with Kort just in case. All other Sternritter with me."_

 _They followed without question, without complaint, and without doubt._

 _***Omake: The true power of 'E'***_

Bambietta gasped out as Grimmjow kicked her across the battlefield, cackling mercilessly as he did so.

"Did you see that Ulquiorra? I bet if I hit her hard enough I can..." the blue haired man's jaw dropped as he noticed the normally stoic Arrancar... crying...

"Uh... what is..."

"Yammy's dog... it was such a cute puppy... why did they have to do it Grimmjow? WHY!?"

The feral Espada's mind shutdown, overloaded with trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Meanwhile Vanda continued focusing her Vollstandig's power solely on the pale man.

"I HATE THEM DO YOU UNDERSTAND GRIMMJOW!? I HATE THEM SO MUCH! Stupid Shinigami and their stupid city with all its white buildings. THAT IS OUR COLOR NOT THEIRS!"

The Espada's emotions continued to rapidly fluctuate as the Quincy activated the most fearsome power in her arsenal, _Puberty_.

"I just don't know what to do anymore! I mean what if I mess up and everyone gets hurt? What happens then Grimmjow huh? WHAT HAPPENS THEN!?"

Still the former sixth Espada stood frozen to his spot, unable to keep up mentally with what was transpiring.

"I'M JUST SO SAD, AND ANGRY, AND DEPRESSED, AND JEALOUS, AND AND AND... ARGH!"

With that the Espada walked up, and mashed his lips into the other man's, enveloping him in a fierce kiss.

"Vanda... what the hell is going on?"

The blonde glanced over to her shocked teammate, before giggling maliciously.

"Let's just say Ichigo knew _exactly_ what he was doing when he sent me on this mission..."

***RitL***

Meanwhile...

"COMMANDER ICHIGO!" A Quincy soldier shouted out, before sliding across the sand and coming to a halt, rather impressively, in front of the orange haired boy.

"Yes?"

"We have received word that Vanda and Bambietta have come into contact with two of the Espada... YOUR ORDERS SIR!?"

"Prepare a gift basket and an apology for our enemies, I knew full well the consequences of sending her out there."

"B-b-but sir! They are monsters!"

"Yes they are... but still to unleash such terrible powers upon them... it is a war crime in and of itself."

 _***RitL***_

As Grimmjow sat frozen in shock, and being mauled by the other Espada, he was suddenly brought out of his stupor by a vicious slap to the face.

"Wh-wha?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING PERVERT!? I'M NOT YOUR WHORE!"

"I-I... wha?"

 _***RitL***_

Elsewhere Captain General Yamamoto felt the sudden urge to surrender to some unknown enemy, to spare himself and the other Shinigami, the horrors of war.

***A/N***

For those of you who have not figured it out yet… this story is going to have character deaths… a lot of them. This really shouldn't surprise you though, the main point of this is the war itself and wars have casualties.

Hopefully everyone is pleased with the combat scenes in this chapter. I haven't decided if I am or not yet.

Next chapter will be the first one that Ichigo has a legitimate battle in, so be prepared for ass kicking.

 **Sternritter/Vollstandig:**

A

B

C

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _Deceased_ -

F

G **The Golem** Irmine

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I

J

K

L

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N

O

P

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz

S

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _Deceased_ -

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y

Z


	9. Hollow Threats

**Raised in the Light**

Hollow Threats

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

'What is wrong with me? It has been hours since that confrontation with the invaders and yet still...'

The Arrancar leader had yet to figure out what exactly was 'wrong with him'. He had gone back over the battle in his mind but could not come up with a suitable answer. He had let the girl leave under her own free will, without even attempting to stop or injure her further. It was a grave miscalculation on his part.

What had he been thinking? What had forced him to... the blonde girl.

That had to be it, she had activated some power before her death and influenced him. But he had still allowed her companion to leave _afterwards._ How could her power still be causing him so much trouble? It should have ended immediately upon her departure from this realm of existence... and yet it had not.

He still felt something inside... an attachment for the black haired woman. He would not deny that she was attractive in some ways, and certainly was powerful. But she paled in comparison to his own or even Harribel's abilities.

If he desired a mate, which he did not, it would make far more sense to choose one of the two female Arrancar rather than this... woman.

But there was something about her, something he could not quite figure out. It was almost as if he found some other reason to drawn to her. But that was ridiculous. Hollows, and therefore Arrancar, primarily looked for power and strength in their chosen partners. Sure physical appearance aided in the selection, but it was mainly this single attribute that they focused on.

So why now could he not get the girl out of his mind?

Images once more flashed before him, of a woman with orange hair and a cheerful, yet defiant, personality. A girl who had no business being in any sort of conflict and had virtually no use what so ever in the war.

A girl which had tried to teach him the meaning of the human concept that was 'heart'.

He had finally rid himself of the memories revolving around her a few weeks after the war had ended. Yet now they seemed to resurface along with another. Dreams, almost fantasies, played through his mind of two beautiful women kneeling before him. One with pitch black hair and the other orange. Both had defiant looks in their eyes, as if waiting for the opportunity to strike him down. Yet in this illusion they were his, in body and mind.

Letting out a deep sigh Ulquiorra rose, before pacing to the balcony of his throne room. He needed to remove these distractions before any further conflicts arose.

 _***RitL***_

"Stupid asshole and his stupid orders covering for that stupid bitch and interfering with my stupid fight..."

"Grimmjow calm yourself. I do not see what the problem..."

"OF COURSE YOU DON'T HE DIDN'T BUTT INTO YOUR FIGHT!"

The glare sent by the two women promptly ended the blue haired man's tirade momentarily.

It was the blonde Arrancar who spoke up next, "I am sure that he had his reasons for letting her go. Perhaps showing a bit of compassion towards our enemies is not the worst idea hm?"

"Says you, she is just going to come back and try to kill us again you know."

"I thought you 'defeated her easily' are you afraid she will figure out a way to beat you next time?" Nel inquired with a slight smirk.

"Of course not! Even if she does come back it would probably be because of my good looks and winning personality."

"Oh yes Grimmjow, however could we forget all of those redeeming qualities of yours?"

The blue haired man grinned at the green haired beauties compliment, not realizing that it was oozing with sarcasm.

'She took the lives of my sisters, I took her life for vengeance... will the next battle put me against someone trying to gain vengeance for that woman? Where does it all end?' Harribel silently pondered as her thoughts drifted and her gaze shifted out towards the moon.

 _***RitL***_

"Excuse me commander but we are preparing to move out."

It had been several days since the battle, several days since their losses.

Ichigo nodded slightly at the soldier, before the man took his leave and Ichigo turned back towards the recovering woman.

"I need to go I will be back afterwards though."

As he stood to leave a small voice called out to him, "Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you hate me? Why do you keep coming back here?"

"There is no reason to hate you Bambietta. You were harmed due to my failures not your own."

She shook her head swiftly back and forth. "That isn't true, they were good orders it is just..."

"I allowed my personal feelings to influence my judgment, that is not what a commander should ever do."

"Everyone has emotions, you more than anyone else should know this. You can't just get rid of them Ichigo."

"I could have ignored them though. I should not have brought her to this place. She wasn't ready and I knew it."

"She was far too stubborn to be left behind."

Ichigo gave a slight sigh, knowing the woman before him had a point.

"It is my fault she is dead not yours Bambietta. Get some rest and..."

"DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HER!"

The Sternritter's sudden shout startled the young man, who took a step back in reflex.

"You don't get to take responsibilities for her actions. She knew what she was doing and chose to do so anyway. She sacrificed herself for me, you have _no right_ to let that action be anything but her own."

Slowly nodding a small smile replaced the shocked look on the orange haired boy's face. "You're right, please forgive me. I must go now, and ensure that any further loss of life is prevented."

Ichigo turned to leave, and made it to the door before the girl whispered out one more time, "Make him pay Ichigo, show everyone why _you_ were made commander. Show everyone how powerful you truly are and tear that bastard apart."

A determined look formed on the man's face, as he nodded, and then departed.

 _***RitL***_

It was growing each day, slowly driving his thoughts in ways he could not comprehend.

Like a splinter in his mind.

At first it was just the desire to protect and ensure her safety. He figured that with her mild injuries she would return to her homeland and be safe.

A day later and all he wanted was to see her again.

Ulquiorra paced back and forth in his throne room, silently cursing his inability to simply go and retrieve the woman that had set fire to his blood.

He wanted her, _needed_ her, and he would have her.

 _***RitL***_

Jugo frowned in annoyance as he motioned for his brother to continue on, leading the column of Quincy further towards their goal. Stepping out of formation he waited a few minutes before pulling another masked soldier out with him.

"What do you think you are doing here?"

The soldier grimaced slightly, before pulling aside her mask to reveal the injured female Sternritter. "I am..."

"You are _going_ to go back to the camp and recover as ordered."

"To hell with that." she hissed back, "Those bastards killed my friend and teammate, do you really expect me to just sit back and wait to hear about what happens?"

The blonde let out an annoyed sigh, this was _exactly_ why he did not want to be a commander in any armed conflict. "What do you hope to accomplish here? To present a target for the Arrancar to take advantage of and get yourself killed? I will not be wasting any soldiers to help you limp along or protect you due to your own..."

"I don't _need_ anyone's help asshole. I can manage just fine and probably fight better than most of your 'healthy' soldiers anyway. I might not be fully recovered but that doesn't mean I can't blow everything to hell and back if need be."

Jugo let out an annoyed groan, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere in this conversation as it was.

"Fine, but you are your own responsibility. I will not inform Ichigo of your... stupidity... unless you become a burden."

"Thank you"

The man scoffed, before turning back towards the head of the advancing force.

"For the record though... I am sorry that she died. She made my brother, and quite a few others, happy with her presence. The world will be far less colorful without her."

 _***RitL***_

"Ulquiorra the enemy has arrived within sight of Las Noches."

"Very well, prepare the army for combat. Hopefully they will advance closer and we may ambush them, if not prepare to send our forces out and inflict maximum casualties. Afterwards we go into combat ourselves."

The dark skinned woman nodded before leaving to relay orders.

"I can only hope you stay safe Bambietta... after this is over we can find each other, then you shall be my queen."

The pale man had not mentioned his growing obsession with the black haired woman to the other Arrancar, how could he? If they knew the connection, he felt towards her they might try to steal her themselves.

No she was his to covet, his to own. She would be with him forever. The only thing stopping it now was a group of enemy soldiers. They would be exterminated soon enough.

 _***RitL***_

"Get into formation, make sure those defensive spikes are up in positions to keep the Hollows back. Officers stay together and be prepared for any sort of Arrancar intervention." Jugo called out, giving orders for the soldiers who were running about.

The Quincy army had marched across the desert and right up to the gates of Las Noches itself.

There the remnants of the Hollow Army gathered and prepared for their counter attack on the invading force.

Normally the Sternritter were not ones to launch the offensive into hostile territory, but they all knew that the Espada were the ones continuously gathering more Arrancar and Hollows to their force. If those four could be removed, then the threat of any future massing would be significantly diminished.

More importantly they had to remove or capture the four before they could escape into the wilderness or the Forest below the desert and turn the situation into guerrilla warfare.

A prolonged war against a near limitless enemy was not one that the Quincy could win in the long run.

Thus the endless horde that now advanced upon their position had to be eliminated, and following that the enemy commanders themselves.

"Alright you heard the man assholes. Get lined up into formation just like we planned this. Front row fires until they tire or the enemy gets too close, then they crouch down and out of the way from the next row."

The soldiers gave a shout of morale, before obeying the redhead's orders.

"How high do you think our losses will be Kort?"

The Sternritter turned back towards Bazz-B before taking on a calculative look. "We will win without question, but my guess is that we will still end up taking around thirty percent casualties. There are far too many of them not to at _least_ do that much."

"Damn... then we still need to deal with those four jackasses. What do you think about the two you encountered?"

"Quite curious today aren't we? That isn't like you Bazz-B." the man pointed out, earning a slight growl.

"Yeah well if you are acting all serious I figured I might as well try a slightly different approach too."

"Indeed, I believe our fallen have earned us taking this battle as such."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to torching the bastards myself."

"Get in line"

Before any further arguing could commence the two men noticed Ichigo and Jugo walking towards forward from the allied ranks, towards the Hollow army.

"What the heck are those two idiots doing?"

 _***RitL***_

"There are quite a lot of them."

Ichigo nodded in agreement. "Indeed"

"Brother, I know that her death still weighs on you but... it was not your fault. A commander must be able to trust in his soldiers. You cannot protect everyone."

"I know... but that doesn't mean I shouldn't protect as many as possible."

Before the blonde could say anything further the orange haired man formed his weapon, and readied an arrow. He paused a moment, pointing the bow towards the advancing horde, before tilting back and firing the projectile into the sky.

 _***RitL***_

"Wow what an amazing archer, truly he is a warrior beyond compare." Bazz noted sarcastically, earning him a smack to the back of the head from Irmine.

Bambietta, on the other hand, just watched on in interest. She had long ago decided not to judge the warrior before her by his appearance, or seemingly useless actions.

Her actions were justified a moment later, as the sky light up as if the sun itself were positioned directly overhead. Then the Sternritter, the Quincy soldiers, and even the Espada themselves watched on in shock as arrows rained down from the heavens upon the massive Hollow army.

 _***RitL***_

The sand covering the landscape was violently thrown aside. The ground below, cratered by the sheer force of the bombardment.

The Hollows that were directly struck by the rain of projectiles were instantly turned to ash. Those that were caught in the explosive force were torn to pieces, mangled in horrific ways that would cause even the hardened soldiers to look away in pity.

It seemed as though the boy had called down the wrath of God himself upon those who advanced towards him and his family.

None survived the onslaught.

In the silence that followed only a single phrase was heard, " _Gesegnet Regen*_ "

 _***RitL***_

The Quincy, even the other Sternritter, had been stunned into silence. They merely stared at the man as he walked back with his brother.

"Today no Quincy dies" he declared, before giving a slightly annoyed glance at the masked Bambietta. "We move on the Espada next, Irmine stay here with Kort just in case. All other Sternritter with me."

They followed without question, without complaint, and without doubt.

 _***RitL***_

"Hey when the hell did you get here?" Bazz cried out, ignoring the annoyed glares the others sent him.

"She has been with us since we departed the camp Bazz-B."

Surprisingly it was Ichigo who answered, not bothering to look anywhere save straight ahead as the group of four entered the fortress.

"Oh... well yeah sure I knew that..."

"Naturally..." the girl sarcastically replied, focusing on her surroundings as well.

A few minutes later they entered into a new open area, with an artificial sky looming above them.

More pressing was the four Espada standing on a rooftop a distance off, not even bothering to hide their presences.

"So the invaders have finally reached this far. I wonder if it is pride, or stupidity that brought you here without your reinforcements." Harribel called out.

"Were here to kick your ass bitch! This is vengeance for our comrades pure and simple!"

"So you seek to continue the cycle of hatred and death. How very noble of you."

Jugo turned towards the green haired woman with a slight glare, "If I remember correctly it was your comrade who sought out vengeance against ours for the death of her followers. Perhaps you should scold your own before attempting to pass judgment on others."

As they argued Ulquiorra's eyes fell upon the female Quincy, before widening slightly.

"Bambietta, what are you doing here? You are injured and should rest."

The other conversations halted, before everyone stared at the man in puzzlement.

"Ulquiorra what are you doing? What is wrong with you?"

The man chose to ignore the blonde's comment, focusing his gaze on his obsession instead.

"I am here to watch the bastard who murdered my friend die."

The pale man's eyebrow rose in curiosity, "You desire his death? Then I shall make you a deal, leave your friends and stay by my side and I shall deliver his head to you."

"U-Ulquiorra, what the hell are you doing man!?"

Before he could answer, Ichigo did it for him. "That isn't necessary, I fully intend on killing your ally myself. As for Bambietta... she isn't going anywhere near you."

The green eyed man shifted his focus onto the opposing commander, and in his mind romantic rival. "So you desire her as well? Then I shall take her from you myself!"

The shorter man vanished in a blur of _Sonido_ as he raced towards his 'prize'.

He was stopped fifteen feet away when the orange haired man appeared in front of him. "As I said... you aren't going anywhere near her. As for the rest of you, my allies here are just to observe. I will deal with all four of you myself."

 _***RitL***_

As the boy's three allies moved from the area, despite the protests from the red haired man and the woman, Nelliel found herself... admiring their opponent.

If she was honest with herself, and after the loss of her Fraccion she could not find the desire not to be, he was attractive. His face seemed almost regal in expression, yet had a trace of boyhood innocence and curiosity.

Eyes that held a great amount of power, and a warmth that she had never encountered in any Arrancar or Shinigami, lit up the room in a rare brightness.

His presence itself was one of command and authority, but he stood in a way that made her feel that if the situation had been different he would be rather approachable and friendly.

Most of all was the power that he exuded. She was sure that he was suppressing it to an unknown degree but even still. She knew it would take at least two of them to defeat him.

That power that so deliciously flowed from him, and yet was completely under his control, was almost... intoxicating for her.

Glancing over at the other female Espada she noted that the girl was becoming quite 'hot and bothered' herself, if the faint blush and slight lust in her eyes was any indication.

It was too bad that the boy had to die here, they could have had such _fun_ together.

 _***RitL***_

"Grimmjow you will go in first while I flank behind him, Harribel and Nelliel will provide assistance if need be."

The blue haired man made no sign of movement, glancing between the invader and his supposed commander, who had just offered to kill him moments prior.

"I will not give you the order again, do not make me regret giving you a chance to be useful."

Fighting back a snarl the feral man nodded, before charging forward against the Quincy.

He was intercepted a few feet from his target when the boy appeared in front of him, his sword already slicing through the Arrancar's torso, forcing him to jump backwards at the last possible second.

Still he had received a damaging slash across his chest, and was now bleeding profusely.

"JOKES ON YOU ASSHOLE! Let's see if you can put up a fight unlike that pathetic blonde bitch!"

He wisely, in his opinion, chose not to target the black haired girl. He wasn't sure how his 'leader' would react yet if he did.

Reaching up he smeared blood into his hand, before charging up his _Gran Rey Cero_.

He should have noticed something was wrong, it was painfully obvious looking back onto the situation. His opponent made no move to interrupt or dodge the attack, made no gesture to even show he cared about such a thing.

Yet the feral man continued anyway, that is until an arrow his the sphere he had been condensing down into the energy wave.

He hadn't even seen the boy change his sword into the bow.

The impact caused his own blast to explode prematurely, and take his right arm with it.

Howling in pain the man fell backwards onto the ground, clutching at his arm in agony.

Harribel and Nelliel shot forward from the left and right, attempting to catch their opponent in a pincer formation before he could follow up on their comrade.

Just as their blades were inches from cutting into him the boy vanished, before appearing behind Nel and delivering a powerful kick to the center of her back.

Harribel barely had time to shift her blade, and avoid impaling her friend, before the green haired beauty was thrown into her. Neither noticed the small capsule that followed the female Espada.

Less than a second later hundreds of gray ropes wrapped around the two, pinning them together in a dense cocoon that covered all but their heads.

Still carrying the momentum they bounced a few times, before rolling to a stop.

 _***RitL***_

"Can you cut this stuff Harribel?"

"It doesn't seem to work, hold on I will activate my _Resurreccion_ and..."

"I wouldn't do that if you value your companion's life."

The two bound women looked up to where Jugo stood above them, his eyes glued on his brother.

"Let me guess, you are going to kill us if we do?"

"No, but that material naturally absorbs Hollow Spiritual Energy. Upon doing so it will increase in density and condense further. If you release to a more Hollowfied state it will undoubtedly crush your companion to death. Even if you survive it will most likely damage you severely in the process."

The green haired woman paled slightly, while her blonde companion growled, before continuing her attempt to saw through with her Zanpakuto.

If worst came to worse then their leader would simply cut them out after he disposed of the others. There was still no way they could defeat his second form.

 _***RitL***_

"Impressive, you have taken two Espada momentarily out of the fight and forced another to use his _Resurreccion_ so quickly. You are a worthy combatant for Bambietta's love."

"I am not combating for her love. I am simply putting down monsters like they deserve. Your 'friend' already killed the woman that I cared about."

"Ah" the pale man glanced over to his ally, who had just activated his enhanced state to regrow his arm.

"As for taking them out of the fight 'momentarily' I think you will find that is not quite true. That containment system was developed by a genius; it will easily hold the two of them."

"Interesting, then I suppose it is upon me to..."

Any further comments were interrupted, as Ichigo appeared in front of the shorter man in an instance. He followed by slamming his fist into the Espada's stomach, forcing the man to cough up blood in response. Without a moment's hesitation Ichigo proceeded to grab a hold of the man's face, flipping him back onto the ground, before spinning and throwing him across the area, and through a building a hundred feet away.

"Now then..." The orange haired boy turned back to the stunned blue haired man, "where were we?"

 _***RitL***_

Ulquiorra pushed the rubble off of him in a slight groan of annoyance. The boy had been faster, and hit harder, then he had anticipated. Undoubtedly if he did not intervene Grimmjow would be dead quite quickly, and if what the boy said was true then the other two Espada were taken out of combat as well.

Three against one, he was sure that Bambietta would not attack him, meant that he could not afford to take any risks.

He would squash the three insects and show his future queen where her place truly was.

 _***RitL***_

For the first time in his existence Grimmjow felt hesitation... and a bit of fear.

The man standing before him had manhandled his superior without effort, and outmaneuvered two superior Espada at the same time.

Now his adversary seemed focused on only one thing, killing him as quickly and painfully as possible. He couldn't afford any more screw ups, his life depended on it in far too many ways.

" _Garra de la Pantera"_

The Espada fired off a series of darts towards the Quincy, hoping to catch him off guard.

Instead Ichigo, almost lazily, dodged the barrage, before instantly firing an arrow into the man's knee, completely severing the bottom half of his leg from the rest of his body.

Off balance, and once again in unimaginable pain, the Arrancar fell to the ground.

"Pathetic, how you ever managed to defeat Vanda-chan or Bambietta is beyond me."

The black haired girl hung her head in shame. Watching this battle, if it could even be called that at this point, merely showed how superior the orange haired boy was to her. He was right, she should have been able to defeat the man, especially since she had help.

Even with limiting herself it had been a two on one fight... they should have won... Vanda should still be alive.

Her depressed chain of thoughts were ended with the sound of more shouting.

Looking up she saw that her commander had put an arrow into the man's shoulder, effectively pinning his right arm to the ground.

A second later the Quincy turned, shifting his bow back to it's sword form to block an attack by the now released fourth Espada.

"So this is your _Resurreccion_ huh? I must say I am not impressed. Even with your enhanced regeneration it is a rather lame ability."

The green eyed monster raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Oh? Didn't you know we observed you during the war? We know all about your abilities, including your second form. If you intend to challenge me in any way you will be forced to use it... unless I kill you first of course..."

Pushing the man back with a burst of strength the orange haired boy instantly changed his weapon back into a bow, before firing a point blank shot into the man's arm and thus completely blowing it off of his body.

His eyes widening in shock, Ulquiorra shot backwards, before regenerating his arm and beginning transformation into his second state.

 _***RitL***_

"Brother, as your second in command I must warn you against being so careless in this fight. You should interrupt the change before it is finished."

"I know, but we are both well aware that either of us can kill him even in this form. Destroying him after this much of a power increase will only further quell any thoughts of the Hollows or Arrancar rebelling in the future."

The blonde knew that his commander was right, but could not help feeling overprotective towards his best friend.

 _***RitL***_

"Now witness true despair" The Espada uttered, releasing his power and nearly dropping Bambietta and Bazz-B to the ground.

Strangely enough neither the blonde nor his current opponent seemed phased at all by the enhanced pressure.

This time Ulquiorra saw the boy raise his bow, and take aim for him.

This time he would not be so foolish.

Using his wings, he quickly shot to the side focusing on his speed and maneuverability to try and position himself to an angle where he could kill the boy without further hurting his prize.

A second later time seemed to slow down as he saw an arrow mere feet from impacting him.

When had the boy fired? How had he been able to target him at such speeds? How was he even accurate enough to hit him?

The man barely managed to twist in time as the projectile struck.

This time it had 'only' been his left hand that was nearly blown off of his body, but the force still sent him skidding to the ground.

"Impressive, I intended for that to blast a hole in your chest and yet you managed to dodge it at the last second. Not many can say that they are fast enough to accomplish such a feat." Ichigo called out to his enemy, not making any further attempts to attack or even advance towards him.

A moment later the boy lazily twisted his torso, dodging the green energy lance that had been thrown by the Arrancar. Moments later it exploded off in the distance.

"Interesting, it should have hit the ground behind you regardless of your movements and yet..." The pale man called back, trying to figure out what had just occurred.

"Yeah that's another one of my tricks, I can change the path of projectiles midair with my _Ransotengai_ technique. I am still working on doing it to anything else, like swords, though."

The last part sounded a bit downtrodden, but the other Sternritter still gaped at the boy.

He had taken an advanced Quincy technique and used it in an even more advanced way... and yet was disappointed that it wasn't perfected yet?

 _***RitL***_

Before the conversation could continue Ichigo disappeared from view, dodging the lunge that Grimmjow had tried in secret. He had thought the boy was distracted, taken off guard by the massive attack launched by his leader and then their subsequent conversation.

He had been wrong yet again.

Appearing above the Espada, in what Ichigo found to be his favorite angle of attack, the boy drew back his bow... and fired a column of pure blue light down onto the man who was still mid attack below him.

The Espada was instantly vaporized, his body dissolving without so much as a shout of surprise or a scream of pain.

The only thing left was his hand, which was just outside of the pillar of light.

Even Ulquiorra's eyes widened in shock.

Everyone's did, save Jugo who had seen the technique already.

 _***RitL***_

"D-d-d-did he just..."

"Kill a transformed Espada in what appeared to be a single attack that I have never heard of or seen before." Bambietta confirmed, still gaping with Bazz at what had transpired.

She knew that man was powerful, hell everyone did after he annihilated an entire army single-handedly, but this... this was power on an entirely different scale.

 _***RitL***_

The remaining combat capable Espada immediately charged his signature technique, _Cero Oscuras_ , only to have the attack disrupted when an arrow severed his arm.

Ichigo had apparently flashed to his right flank when his vision had been momentarily blocked by the energy sphere.

Leaping into the air Ulquiorra tried to gain altitude, to formulate a plan or even launch the attack from above.

But his adversary, it seemed, had been patient for as long as he was going to. Two more arrows struck his wings, tearing them apart and causing the man to fall back towards the ground below.

Just as he righted himself and levitated midair another projectile pierced his stomach, then his left shoulder, then his right leg.

They had been fired so rapidly that it seemed all three had impacted at the same moment. This had taken the rest of his concentration, and forced the man to continue his fall where he plummeted to the ground below.

Slowly the Espada pushed himself off the ground, only to find an arrow inches away from his face.

"Goodbye... monster"

The Arrancar's head was removed from his body.

 _***RitL***_

Ichigo stood above the remains for a few moments, another arrow notched and ready to fire should the Espada have some way of regenerating that they had not discovered.

Upon seeing no change, the boy relaxed slightly, and walked back to where his team stood. Two members still staring with amazed expressions on their faces, and his brother was a nod of approval.

Within less than ten minutes he had defeated four Espada, and killed two of them.

All without using any enhanced form or power. Without receiving a single scratch.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _Finally the woman raised herself onto her knees, before bowing her head. "Forgive me my lord, I knew not what I did. I will dedicate my life to you as recompense."_

 _Ichigo looked a bit flustered, while his father appeared... oddly pleased._

" _Ah well then that settles it, congratulations on receiving a servant my son."_

 _***Omake: Premature Explosions ***_

Shortly after Grimmjow's _Gran Rey Cero_ had been forcibly detonated the mohawked Sternritter snickered quietly, "Looks like someone has a problem with… premature explosions…"

"EXCUSE ME, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY ASSHOLE!?"

The Quincy turned towards the irate blue haired man, apparently gifted enhanced hearing as well.

"YOU HEARD ME JACKASS, AND IN CASE THAT WASN'T CLEAR ENOUGH I WAS MOCKING YOUR SEXUAL PERFORMANCE."

"OH NOW YOU'VE DONE IT, YOU JUST WOKE THE BEAST!"

"YEAH I BET IF YOU COULD GET A GIRLFRIEND SHE WOULD BE JUST AS DISAPPOINTED AS I AM RIGHT NOW!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT, FUCK THIS ORANGE HAIRED JERKOFF, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS GONNA BE MY BITCH TONIGHT!"

With his declaration the Espada charged the other man, ignoring the confused looks by the other Espada and Quincy nearby.

Bazz-B prepared himself for battle, readying his bow and focusing on unleashing the true potential of 'the heat'.

It wasn't necessary though, as the battle was interrupted by a sword coming between the two, and another red haired man jumping down to meet them.

"I heard from a very reliable source that two 'below adequate' assholes were having a dick measuring competition. So I figured I might as well show you two what a _real_ man looks like."

"Who the hell are you!?"

"Name is Renji Abarai, lieutenant to…"

His introduction was interrupted as the Espada began roaring out in laughter, "ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? A lieutenant is trying to measure up to an Espada? How about you come back when you aren't busy being somebody's bitch?"

"Oh then I suppose you are in charge of your group then huh jackass?"

The blue haired man paused, before growling back in annoyance, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I think that my dimwitted companion here is trying to say that you are just as much of a whiny ass-hat as he is. Which I do believe makes me the best here… so how bout you ladies go find some pretty dresses to try on eh?" Bazz-B replied with a smirk.

"Listen rooster I don't know who the fuck you are but…"

"Did you just call me… rooster? YOU KNOW WHAT FUCK IT, I'LL JUST KILL YOU BOTH!"

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try, what are you gonna do huh? Cockle doodle doo at the sunrise for a while?"

"I'LL TURN YOU INTO A SUNRISE YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY ASS-HAT?"

"WHAT WAS THAT CLOWN FACE?"

"I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU LINT LICKER!"

"OH YEAH WELL WHY DON'T YOU GO AND…"

By this point the others had simply tuned the three men out, with many of them going and taking a seat down by the two entangled female Espada, who seemed to be better company than anyone else.

Bambietta was simply trying to avoid the creepy 'fan-girl' stare that Ulquiorra was giving her.

***A/N***

*Roughly translates to "Blessed Rain"

So the Ulquiorra thing wasn't originally planned out like this, but when I kept going into the chapter I thought it was kind of a cool idea. In my mind Vanda's ability was enhanced to such an extent that it basically makes the Espada fall in love with her to the point of being a crazed obsession. He desires her above everything else and begins to lose his sanity because of it.

I hope the first 'real battle' scene was sufficient for everyone. If not, I will try and do better when the actual Shinigami vs Quincy battles startup.

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!

 **Sternritter/Vollstandig:**

A

B

C

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased_ -

F

G **The Golem** Irmine

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I

J

K

L

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N

O

P

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz

S

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased_ -

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y

Z


	10. Dominance

**Raised in the Light**

Dominance

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

Following the battle the Sternritter had dragged the two captured Arrancar back to their camp to prepare them for transport to their home.

Ichigo had insisted upon helping the injured Bambietta back to the medical ward. Jugo had left to contact their leader concerning the success of the operation. Kort, however, had decided to have a brief 'conversation' with their two prisoners.

"You know I never quite understood the rumors."

The two women glared up at the man as he stood guard over them in a secured building.

"They said that Ichigo, that would be the man who _utterly_ decimated your friends if what Bazz-B says is correct, hates your kind... well I suppose 'hate' isn't quite strong enough. He despises you to a degree that I can't even imagine... or at least that is the rumor. But I never really believed it."

The man paused, pondering how to continue his train of thoughts, much to Harribel's annoyance. "It's his personality you know? He is such a happy go lucky guy. Always smiling, always so damn confident and helpful. He is the type of person that you could go to for help and he would drop everything and make time for it. Nicest damn guy I have ever met..."

Again he halted, gazing out a nearby window to the never ending desert.

"But I get it now... I understand _exactly_ how he can hate your kind so much. Because I hate you too, it must be something that the two of us share... he must have lost someone to a Hollow when he was younger and learned to detest you and your brethren because of it... and now?" Kort chuckled, a humorless and dark sound that caused the two women to flinch in discomfort. "Now he has lost the love of his life to yet _another_ of you monsters. Not only that but I had to watch as someone I barely considered a friend willingly sacrificed herself to save me."

The man nodded before turning to walk back to a chair he had setup in a dark corner of the room.

"You do realize _why_ we took you alive correct? It wasn't just for fun or to see if we could. They are going to experiment on you two. They are going to cut you two abominations open and see what makes you tick on the inside... and I for one hope to be there when it happens."

"If the situation were reverse I would be praying for the same opportunity." The dark skinned woman suddenly called out, forcing the man's eyes to widen in shock.

"You and your... friend... took three of the most important people in my life away from me. You invaded our homes, declared us 'monsters' and then sought to exterminate us... and yet you have the _nerve_ to hate us!?" the blonde Espada's voice continued to rise, her anger and frustrations finally coming out. "We are not Hollows just as you are not humans. The orange haired man already took his vengeance upon the two who killed his lover just as I took my vengeance upon the one who killed my sisters. Will you now take yours upon me? Then Nelliel might find a way to kill you, only for one of your friends to kill her in kind? Where does it end? Where do the killings and sacrifices finally end?"

The Quincy was brought to silence, pondering the 'monsters' words as the room fell quiet once more.

 _***RitL***_

As Ichigo helped the black haired girl limp back into her bed he focused a glare on her that made the woman flinch back in fright.

"I _allowed_ you to come with the army because I knew it would do you no good to sit around here and think about what happened. I figured that seeing how this played out would help alleviate your guilt just a bit."

Bambietta nodded, before opening her mouth to speak.

"HOWEVER" she was interrupted, though, before she could. "If you _ever_ ignore the orders from a superior officer, such as myself or my brother, again I will personally make sure you are relieved of your rank and put on farming duty for the rest of the conflict. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes"

"Good, now that being said... I am _ordering_ you to stay in this room and recover until either myself, Jugo, or my father _personally_ let you out. So lay there, shut up, and eat your gross ass hospital food." The last remark was made with a smirk, allowing the man to get up and leave, ignoring the mutterings of 'cruel and unusual punishment'.

 _***RitL***_

Ichigo and Jugo bowed respectfully, showing their allegiance to the man who had just arrived. "Father" they greeted in unison.

The Quincy lord smiled, striding forth from the portal that had been setup in their camp for ease of access.

"Ah I see that Jugo's report was accurate as always. It is good to see that at least _one_ of my sons has mastered the art of paperwork." the man spoke out in a teasing tone. What he had not expected was the orange haired boy's reaction.

"I shall work on that skill immediately father, apologies for my inadequacies."

The dark haired man glanced towards the blonde, who had a concerned expression on his face. They were both well aware that it was not just paperwork that their family member was referring to as an 'inadequacy'.

"Regardless of that my son, I have heard that you defeated four Espada by yourself. Quite an impressive feat if I do say so."

"We also lost two of our knights in the process, due to my mistake."

The man frowned once again, "While Mask has his engineers setting up the machinery to begin harvesting the natural energy of this world I would like to see the captured Espada myself. Perhaps we can make use of them yet. Furthermore please gather the rest of your officers my son, this could be a valuable learning experience for them as well."

 _***RitL***_

The eldest Quincy glanced over the two captured Arrancar, an amused smile on his face as he did so.

Nelliel cringed slightly at the old man's gaze, Harribel decided to take a more 'direct approach'... and spat on the man.

Before she could follow up with any further comments she found herself slammed against a wall, the orange haired boy glaring into her eyes with rage. But two could play at this game, and she glared right back.

That is until it felt as though the world fell down upon her. Spiritual pressure of an intensity that even Ulquiorra could not match roared to life in the room, forcing all those save for the three most powerful Quincy down to their knees in shock.

The blonde Arrancar, being the target of the phenomenon, found herself dying from the exertion. She couldn't breathe, speak, or even control her own body in the face of such power. She tried valiantly to simply maintain eye contact, to try and save what was left of her damned pride as a former Espada.

It was all for naught.

Her glare fell to the floor, and her resistance was crushed moments later. Seeing her change Ichigo dropped the woman, who instantly collapsed onto the ground.

The Sternritter thanked whatever God was listening that the pressure eased up a moment later, as the boy turned and walked back to his father's side.

 _***RitL***_

It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. No one was _that_ powerful. No one could force an above Captain level opponent to the ground without effort. Even Ichigo couldn't be that strong... right?

But despite her denials Bambietta couldn't forget what had occurred. Her friend, if she could call him that, had dropped a room full of Sternritter and two Espada to the floor with just his spiritual pressure. The only two who had remained standing were Yhwach, if he had fallen Bambietta was sure that she would have died in the incident, and his brother Jugram.

She had no doubt that the high Quincy lord was more powerful than her, and probably every other warrior she had ever encountered, but the blonde... were the two brothers truly that far above everyone else? She had recalled hearing rumors that they were considered part of the 'War Enders' but it seemed to be just the usual gossip.

Now though... there didn't seem to be any doubt left in her mind.

 _***RitL***_

Nelliel glanced up hesitantly from her place, sprawled out on the floor like the other occupants of the room. The power that she had just witnessed... had just _felt_... it was exhilarating. Never before had she felt so completely dominated by someone, without even their full attention.

But it wasn't just that, it was the way that the power wrapped around her. It was the warmth, fury, and determination that she felt in it.

She could dedicate her life to this man. The Arrancar would gladly serve him, as was custom in Hollow society, until a stronger warrior stepped forward, or she fell in battle. Now all she had to do was figure out how to get him to accept her...

 _***RitL***_

"Hmmm"

"Father I believe we should deal with this before it gets further out of hand." Ichigo pointed out, returning the gaze to the dark skinned woman who was slowly picking herself off of the ground.

"Oh I believe you have already done that quite efficiently my son."

"She defied you, spat upon you, dishonored you..."

"And you broke her. I believe that was fitting enough punishment, now let us see what the results of your actions were."

Finally the woman raised herself onto her knees, before bowing her head. "Forgive me my lord, I knew not what I did. I will dedicate my life to you as recompense."

Ichigo looked a bit flustered, while his father appeared... oddly pleased.

"Ah well then that settles it, congratulations on receiving a servant my son."

"Two servants my lord... I will happily serve you for as long as I am able."

This time it was the green haired woman who spoke out, finally raising herself up so that she could bow her head effectively.

"Ah even better, well I suppose that solves the issue then."

The older man turned to leave, before a flabbergasted Ichigo called out, "Y-you can't be serious dad!"

"I am very serious, I want you to take on these two as your personal servants and guards in the upcoming conflict."

"B-b-b-but why!?"

"Because I foresee that they will be of great value to you. Perhaps in more ways than one? I am aware of your loss my son but you must find a way past this. Use her death to drive you to even greater heights. Do not let her die in vain. If you need to... use... these two in order to help your recovery then do so. I need you and your brother to be combat ready for the invasion, too many lives will be depending on you."

The orange haired boy became visibly flustered, trying to find some kind of excuse before giving up and throwing his hands into the air in defeat. He stormed out of the tent, muttering to himself about 'perverted old men' while Yhwach and his brother merely chuckled.

Seconds later the two Espada had recovered, and quickly followed after him.

 _***RitL***_

"Stupid perverted old men and their stupid fantasies... I swear it's like he wants to live vicariously through me and..."

"Is something wrong master?"

Ichigo spun around, his hand already grasping his Quincy cross in preparation for activating his weapon.

The two Arrancar women stood about ten feet from him, looking concerned.

"You left in a hurry master, is everything okay? Did your father say something that upset you?"

"He... no it's fine. I just did not expect my father to be so..."

"Concerned for your well being?" the green haired woman attempted to fill in the silence.

"No that part I understand. I just never thought he would be so concerned about my... well my personal life I guess. Also for him to trust the two of you so easily... it isn't like him at all."

"Perhaps he understands our culture, now that you have claimed your dominance over us we..."

"Woah woah woah, I didn't claim _anything_ of the sort."

The dark skinned woman looked a bit confused for a moment before speaking up once more, "Then why did you 'break me' as your father described. You completely dominated me with your spiritual pressure."

"I... you were being a jerk!"

"Because I did not wish to be looked down upon by another?"

This froze Ichigo mid sentence. He had always had the idea that Hollows were monsters to be exterminated, compassionless creatures that preyed upon the helpless and innocent. They experienced no love, no happiness, no companionship, and no friendship.

But now... he remembered the report of Harribel's worry over her Fraccion's defeat during the last war. Also about Nelliel's wrath towards the Shinigami who had taken the lives of her followers.

Perhaps he had been wrong, at least about the Arrancar.

"I believe I owe you two an apology..." the orange haired boy whispered out after a few moments of silence. "I had regarded Arrancar as no better than the Hollows you originated from. As beings of pure evil... and that is obviously wrong. I am sorry for assuming such things about you."

The two former Espada smiled softly before nodding, "Quite alright master, I heard that you had... some issues with a Hollow earlier in your life so it is understandable that you would have a hatred for our kind."

"It was my mother..." the boy softly replied, earning a slight whimper from Nel in sympathy.

Once more silence enveloped the three.

"You must have loved her very much."

"I did"

"And I have no doubt she loved you as well."

"Yes"

Harribel nodded at her assumptions before making one more, "Then she would not have wanted you to be so full of hatred master. She would want you to be happy... this darkness inside of you will consume you if you allow it. Even if you kill every single Hollow in existence it will never be enough. It will not bring her back to you. Instead you will be forced to find another thing to hate, and then another, and another... until you destroy yourself."

Ichigo looked up at the woman, who was staring off into the distant desert. It almost seemed as if she was talking to herself as much as him.

"She is right master. I witnessed my only two friends be killed trying to protect me from the Shinigami who invaded our home a year ago... after I swore vengeance upon them I began training to defeat them. I knew nothing else but retribution and hatred, until one day I woke up and realized that I had nothing else in my life. There was nothing in my future for _after_ I obtained this. I decided then and there that it wasn't worth it to focus on such things. So I became friends with Harribel and her Fraccion."

"Your followers were killed by Adali correct?"

"Yes they were, and I killed her in turn. But watching her die... it brought no peace to my heart, no warmth to comfort me or cheer to help calm their screams in my mind. I must find my own way to stop the nightmares just as you must."

Ichigo nodded, before giving out a deep sigh.

"Is there anything we can do for you master?"

"Well you could stop calling me master for one..."

"Unacceptable"

"No chance _master"_ unsurprisingly it was Nel who added the teasing tone to her response.

"I don't _need_ servants. Why degrade yourself by..."

"It is not degrading for us. Hollows value strength and power above all other traits in a mate. Since you are undoubtedly the most powerful warrior here we have _both_ chosen you for this. Not only that but you seem to have a plan for the future, a way to end the violence between the races once and for all. I for one would be happy to aid you in doing so. As for the servitude..." Harribel trailed off, trying to figure out exactly _why_ she was okay with the situation.

"Harribel and I have a fetish for it." the pale beauty finished in a not so subtle way.

Ichigo immediately began coughing in surprise, while Harribel sent a glare towards her friend.

"What... you know it's true..."

 _***RitL***_

"Aight man so what's the scoop?"

Ichigo glanced at his red haired comrade in confusion.

"What are you talkin..."

"OH COME ON! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM TALKING ABOUT!?" Even the other Sternritter looked a bit curious about the conversation now.

"I assure you Bazz-B I am not a mind reader, perhaps if you..."

"THE BLUE LIGHT YOU FRIED THAT BASTARD WITH!"

"Oh, you mean _Heilige Lichtsaule*."_

"Yeah that thing! What the hell was it?"

"A modified Quincy technique." with that Ichigo turned back to his food, assuming that the conversation was over.

"And?"

"And...?"

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO IT!?"

At this point Jugo, who was developing a bit of a headache due to the man's shouting, interrupted. "You are aware of the technique known as _Licht Regen_ correct?"

"Psh yeah... of course... I mean who hasn't... but just for those who might _not_ have could you expla..."

"It is a Quincy technique that bombards an area with _Heilig Pfeil._ Similar to what you used in an attempt to cheat at the 'long shot' challenge."

"Being clever isn't cheating..." the redhead muttered under his breath, before the blonde continued on.

"Ichigo's technique is similar to that, but instead of bombarding an entire area he concentrates the ability down into a small column. By hyper-compressing the projectiles they no longer appear as individual arrows but merely as a beam of light that can burn through even the strongest of opponents."

The Quincy gaped once more, Bambietta would later realize that this sort of response had been happening quite often when the orange haired man was involved.

"Well that is... impressive..." Kort wisely noted.

"So when are you teaching the rest of us this awesome technique old buddy old pal?"

"I can show it to you if you want Bazz-B but keep in mind it is exceptionally difficult to perform. It is one of the few techniques that even my brother cannot correctly utilize."

Jugo nodded in agreement. He was generally very gifted in all forms of Quincy combat but Ichigo... his brother had a way of developing and modifying techniques that even he could not replicate. It was one of the things that the orange haired man found pride in, something that he could do better than anyone else. Thus he was rather happy that he himself was _not_ able to do the same. Ichigo needed something that was just his and no one else's.

 _***RitL***_

With a small military presence left in Hueco Mundo for advanced warning, and to maintain the devices constructed to harvest the resource rich atmosphere, the rest of the Sternritter returned for their homeland.

There they rested and recovered for a day before being summoned by their leader for an 'award assembly'.

Most had secretly been hoping for this, recognition for their abilities and the chance at glory and promotions. With everything that had happened though, with the friends they had lost...

Even Bazz-B lacked the excitement that most would attribute to him.

"My Sternritter and fellow Quincy, we have gathered here for one purpose, to commend those who have emerged victorious and secured us against further assaults by the Hollow forces of Hueco Mundo. Though the victory was not without its casualties we have gained an impressive advantage in the future wars for peace."

The man gestured for all of the soldiers to rise.

"But first a moment of silence for our fallen. In the course of the invasion Vanda ' **The Emotion** ' and Adali ' **The Thunder** ' were killed by enemy combatants. We must honor their sacrifices for our future and our descendants. They chose to protect their fellow Sternritter, and in the process died for them. Thus they have been given the Knights Cross, the highest honor we can bestow, posthumously for their services."

The gathered soldiers, and even the Espada who watched from a nearby balcony, fell into silence. All knew what it meant to sacrifice for another, to sacrifice for a cause. It was the most noble act that any could imagine.

Moments later Yhwach raised his head and nodded, as the two names were added to a large stone Quincy Cross that had been erected.

A monument to the fallen.

"Now then, we shall begin. With the lower awards first and foremost. Bazz-B, Lothar, and Irmine. For your services in the invasion you shall all be awarded the Iron Cross." The three stepped forward, allowing the small medals to be pinned onto their uniforms.

"Next for exceptional actions in the line of duty Bambietta, Kort, and Jugo will be awarded the Steel Cross."

Once more the recipients walked forward to allow the medals to be added to their apparel.

"Finally" The man paused, before glancing to the orange haired boy who was still staring at the memorial stone, more specifically the names that had been etched onto it. "For overall command of the operation, and preventing untold casualties and loss of life through his direct actions. I award the Silver Cross to Ichigo."

His name seemed to shake the man out of his trance, and he walked forward to accept the medal, although with a noticeable reluctance.

"This is but the first in our stepping stones to victory my children. The first of many. Now I must encourage all of you to resume your training and gather your strength for the future. We will begin preparations for our invasion of the Soul Society in the coming weeks."

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

" _B-but sir surely there must be a mistake! Yamamoto killed the traitor himself! There is no way he could have survived!" The tallest man called out desperately._

" _Was there a body recovered?"_

 _The five that stood before him hesitated, knowing the answer but realizing what was being suggested. "N-no your excellency but…" the wide woman began, before being interrupted._

" _Then he isn't dead. I would have thought all of you would have learned that by now after facing the Menos for so long…"_

 _***Omake: A Grave Injustice ***_

"Welcome Ladies, Gentlemen, and Kiba to the first weekly meeting of 'The Gin Ichimaru Fourth Wall Alliance'." The silver haired Captain called out, with his patented grin.

Before him sat the best of the best. Men and women of such class and skill that individually they were a force to be reckoned with. Together they would be unbeatable, a power that would bring future empires to their knees, but not in the perverted way. An organization that would strike fear into the hearts of all.

"Allow me to do introductions if you will. First off is our fearless leader, a man who needs no introductions."

With that the pale man fell silent, while the others stared at him, waiting for the Shinigami to finish.

"Annnnnd?"

"It's me, I am the leader." Gin finished with a smile.

The others face palmed, before urging him to continue.

"Yes, yes of course. Next up is the fabulous MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASK!"

Suddenly the wall was ripped open by the man being introduced, who had donned a 'championship belt' and was currently shouting into a microphone.

"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHIN BROTHA, I GOT THE COURGE, THE DETERMINATION, AND THE JUUUUUUSSSSSSSSTICE!"

"From there we shall proceed to the one who shall bring our youth soaring ever higher... GAAAAAAAAI!"

"YOOOOOOOUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHH"

"Yes yes, moving on we have his partner in crime, the man without a face, the silver haired hipster himself, KAKASSSSHIIIIII!"

"Hm you say something?"

"Next up is our resident shapeshifter, the green one, the pimp master extraordinaire... BEAAAAST BOOOOOOOOOOOOY!"

"Uh what am I doing here? I'm not even from an anime..."

"True, but I bribed the author with cookies and thus was allowed to use characters from any of his stories thus far."

"Ah... well I did troll batman once so..."

"PRECISELY! Finally we have Kiba, whom I have purposely trained wrong... as a joke."

"Thank you, thank you you are all too kind to be in the presence of my awesome. I must say that..."

"Right so moving right along then, now that introductions have been finished we need to get right to the purpose of these meetings... you see there has been a _grave_ injustice, all of us are by far the best characters in our respective stories and yet... AND YET NONE OF US HAVE BEEN THE MAIN CHARACTERS!"

"Uhm dude I was totally the main character, plus I had a five-some in my story so..." The changeling began, before a large white haired man crashed through the roof.

"A FIVESOME! Please tell me all about it and leave out no details my future apprentice! For I THE EVER AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, STUPENDOUS, RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME Jiraiya am here to write a book of you epic!"

"Wait a second! HOW COME HE GOT SO MANY CHICKS BUT I ENDED UP WITH NO ONE!?"

"Because Kiba"

The feral boy waited for a moment, but realized that the masked Shinobi had already gone back to reading his smut.

"AH HEM, as I was saying... GRAVE INJUSTICE! Thus we must remedy this by forming our own story... inside of a story!"

"YOSH AND IF I CANNOT HELP YOU ACCOMPLISH THIS I SHALL TOSS KIBA OFF OF A TWENTY STORY BUILDING!"

"YEAH! Wait what?"

***A/N***

*Roughly translates to "Holy Pillar of Light"

Several of the scenes in this chapter were a bit improvised after suggestions by readers. I had not originally intended for Ichigo to change his mind concerning the Arrancar, he was going to remain cold and untrusting of them, but this makes him feel so much more human.

I was originally worried that this story was going to turn out to be too short, having thought that Hueco Mundo would be finished in one or two chapters. But as I go along I continue to come up with fun new conflicts for the eventual invasion of the Soul Society... it's going to be so much fun to write!

For anyone who might be a bit concerned though, no Ichigo is not going end up paired with Nel or Harribel. I already have a story where these are the focus but with Arrancar as they are I just felt like them being with him in this context sort of made sense. Plus I wanted to include them as important characters, unlike in canon where they are mentioned and then never seen again.

 **Credit for the term "War Enders" goes to Zaraki Jaegerjaquez**

This Omake... I have unleashed something that I feel as though I will regret in the future chapters. Putting this many troll characters together at once... dear God what have I done?

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Ichigo (presumed)

Jugo (presumed)

 **Sternritter/Vollstandig:**

A

B

C

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased_ -

F

G **The Golem** Irmine

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I

J

K

L

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N

O

P

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz

S

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased_ -

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y

 _Z_


	11. Truth Concealed

**Raised in the Light**

Truth Concealed

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"AH ICHIGO MY DEAR LAD COME IN, COME IN TELL ME OF YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE HARSH DESERTS!"

"Maybe some other time Mask… I just stopped by to inform you I wasn't able to procure any live specimens for you. But I did manage to get most of one and a small part of another. I am afraid I went a bit overboard and disintegrated the rest."

"AH QUITE ALRIGHT DEAR BOY. SO THEN THE RUMORS OF THE TWO LOVELY ARRANCAR THAT ARE SHARING A BED WITH YOU ARE FALSE?"

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, if the Sternritter had time to be spreading rumors then they clearly had _too much time_ to begin with. "Afraid so Mask, I do have two 'servants' now that are Arrancar but they do not share a bed with me."

"AH, WELL PERHAPS I COULD TAKE A LOOK AT…"

"They are off limits."

The larger man paused, seeing the look in the younger boy's eyes that seemed to warn him of continuing this conversation.

"VERY WELL THEN! I AM SURE I CAN OBTAIN ENOUGH INFORMATION FROM THE DECAPTITATED BODY TO FIND SOME INTERESTING RESEARCH REGARDLESS!"

The masked man promptly leapt across the room, smashing through a nearby cabinet and pulling two odd collar looking devices from it, "I DO HOWEVER HAVE A SMALL REQUEST FOR YOU. IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND AS TO HAVE YOUR TWO 'FRIENDS' WEAR THESE I WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATIVE."

The orange haired boy glanced at them questioningly, "What do they do?"

"THEY ARE WHAT I HAVE COME TO CALL 'ER COLLARS' SHORT FOR ENFORCEMENT AND RESEARCH. SHOULD THE WEARER ATTEMPT TO INFLICT HARM ON THE ONE THEY ARE ATTUNED TO THE COLLAR WILL VIOLENTLY EXPLODE, KILLING THEM IN A GLORIOUS WAY!"

"Uh… I don't think that…"

"OF COURSE THE OTHER FUNCTION ALLOWS ME TO MONITOR THEIR BIOLOGY AND SPIRITUAL ENERGY. IT WILL NOT HARM THEM BUT SHALL GIVE ME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING LIVE ARRANCAR."

"Well… I guess that is fair. Alright I will ask them to wear these."

The larger man grinned, noting that his friend had said 'ask them' rather than 'order them'. Apparently the younger Quincy was growing quite fond of the two 'monsters'.

"One more thing Mask, I was curious about what my father planned for the energy being gathered from Hueco Mundo. Do you by chance know…"

"OF COURSE I DO YOUNG MASTER! BUT SADLY THAT IS NOT FOR ME TO DIVULGE" The man gave an exaggerated sigh, but never lost the twinkly of excitement in his eyes. "ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT HIS MAJESTY IS PREPARING IT FOR A 'BACKUP PLAN'."

"Well that does sound like my father. If you need any help with your research just let me know." With that the boy gave a wave goodbye as he left the room.

The larger man gave a large grin, "Oh I shall young master, I shall indeed."

 _***RitL***_

Bambietta had always hated Hollows. Not from any personal experience, thankfully, but just because she had been brought up on stories of them being monsters. Creatures that preyed upon the weak and innocent.

But she had never had anything _personal_ against them. That is until the invasion, until she watched her friend die for her at the hands of one of their modified kin.

Then vengeance had been wrought upon the man and his fellow Arrancar. Both had been slaughtered by the boy that she, if she was being honest with herself, was becoming more and more attractive to her as the days went on. Sure he was a bit juvenile and silly, but these were welcome changes compared to the other Sternritter.

Now though, as she stood gaping at the Arrancar that had answered the door to Ichigo's room… now she found herself hating them for an entirely _different_ reason.

The green haired woman was standing in front of her, clothed in such a way that it showed about as much cleavage as humanely possible without being just lingerie. Along with the fact that she had absolutely _nothing_ covering her legs and well… the Quincy could feel her anger rising by the second.

"Hi there"

Bambietta blinked in confusion at the happy greeting the former Espada had just given. "Um… hi… is Ichigo here?"

"You mean master? Yeah he is just finishing up in the shower with Harribel."

' _EXCUSE ME!_ '

Her inner rage was interrupted as the happy woman called out to the boy, who emerged a moment later, with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

"You could have just invited her inside Nel."

The Arrancar cheerfully nodded, before gesturing the Quincy to take a seat.

Bambietta, however, was still frozen in place, staring at the barely clad man who was moving towards his bedroom.

She never knew that someone could look so… _delicious_.

Just as he closed the door behind him, the dark skinned Arrancar stepped out of the bathroom that Ichigo had left moments prior, dripping wet and clad only in a towel herself.

'The Volatile' briefly considered how much trouble she would get in if she killed the orange haired jackass.

 _***RitL***_

"So… I see you have moved on quite well from Vanda-chan already."

Ichigo halted in the process of taking another sip from his drink, and lowered it to glare at the woman before him.

"I am going to do you a favor… and pretend that you _didn't_ just say that."

"I didn't stutter asshole. First thing you do after getting back is shacking up with two women? Obviously I was wrong about you, maybe you didn't really care abou…"

Before she could blink the woman found herself slammed against the wall, an arm across her throat holding her up.

"Don't you _ever_ accuse me of not caring" the man growled out. "I was _ordered_ to take care of them for the conflict. _They_ picked out their own outfits and the only reason Harribel was in the shower was because she feels more relaxed in water. _Nothing_ happened besides her demanding to wash my back to 'prove her loyalty'."

His gaze softened, before gently letting her down, allowing her to take several deep gasps of air.

"She was one of the most important people in my life…"

"I know… I'm sorry Ichigo I just… when I saw them…"

"Yeah I can imagine. Sorry about…"

"No, no it's okay. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I knew that his majesty ordered you to take them as servants and I guess…" the woman let out a deep sigh, remembering her promise to herself that she wouldn't hide her emotions like before, "I was jealous".

"Jealous, why?"

"Because they are just… well look at them! Even if they are Arrancar they are mind numbingly beautiful, compared to them I'm just…"

"Even more lovely." The orange haired man finished in a no nonsense tone.

Bambietta just stared at him.

"What? You know it's true. You are beautiful Bambietta, you just need to smile a little more. If you were just a tad more approachable…"

"It would have been us falling in love instead of you and Vanda?"

He fell silent, not wanting to cross any emotional lines.

"It's okay, I know you two loved each other. I was jealous of her too… I didn't realize what I had given up until… well until it was gone."

A calm silence fell over the two for a few moments, before Bambietta swallowed her pride once more, "Any chance that we could… try again? To be friends at least?"

The boy smiled, and nodded "I would like that Bambietta."

 _***RitL***_

"Well well well, what do we have here? Looks like our 'prince' found himself some kinky whores after all." Lutz called out, grinning in a disturbing way as the dark skinned Espada went about collecting lunch for the other Arrancar and her master.

What gained the most attention was the collar she now wore around her neck.

The Quincy sauntered up to the blonde woman, eyeing her up in down, "You know despite your… flaws… I would be happy to show you around sometime babe. I have been real lonely lately and I could use some…"

"I belong to only one man and you are not him now leave me be."

"Awwww come on don't be like that baby… I bet you are into all sorts of 'fun' with how you are dressed…"

"Lutz, leave her alone."

The man turned back to see Kort standing nearby, narrowing a glare onto him.

"The fuck is your problem asshole? I will do whatever I want to…"

"Is that a challenge?"

The perverted Sternritter hesitated at this. This was not the same laid back, lazy man that had originally gone to Hueco Mundo… he was different now, dangerous even.

"I uh…"

"I didn't seem to hear you Lutz… is that a challenge?"

"N-no… bah fine whatever I'm outa here."

The man turned and left, leaving the Arrancar and her 'protector' behind.

A moment passed before the woman spoke up, "You didn't need to do that. I could have handled myself just fine."

"Yeah I know, but I would rather not have you tear apart one of my fellow Quincy before the next big battle. Besides… I guess I kind of owe you an apology after… well you know."

"Not necessary, I understand why you acted the way you did. Had the situation been reversed I have no doubt I would have done the same in your place."

The Quincy nodded before turning to leave, "If you ever need anything… well just let me know."

The blonde watched in surprise as the man walked away. Perhaps there was hope for the future after all?

 _***RitL***_

Irmine sat at the small table with several of the other female Sternritter.

"So…"

"So" Keifer agreed, trying to figure out a way to break the silence now that the happy blonde was gone.

"Not quite the same without her is it?" Rille commented, a bit 'down in the dumps' herself.

The youngest girl shook her head sadly, Vanda had always seemed to know exactly what to say or do to bring cheer and happiness into the world and now that she was gone…

"We should do something to honor her. Play a prank, go on an adventure, go shopping…"

"She would have liked that, actually I think she would have liked that we are at least spending time together, and not hiding away in depression."

Keifer nodded in agreement, "Yeah she always did hate being alone. That stupid power of hers always let her know when one of us was feeling sad or lonely… I remember that one time that she practically stalked you through the palace Rille until she found you."

Irmine giggled happily, it had been quite the sight, watching the blonde pull out a magnifying glass and act like she was following some sort of hidden trail to find the upset girl. She would certainly miss her fellow Sternritter.

"Well… we could always do the one thing she would when she felt lonely."

"Which was?" Rille was actually a bit curious now. She had been feeling a bit upset with herself for not finding more information about the other girl before her passing.

"Sleep with Ichigo" the lusty girl replied with a smirk.

Her friend immediately began coughing in shock, ignoring the laughs from the others.

 _***RitL***_

"Y-your m-majesty we have a s-situation!" a messenger called out as he ran in, already out of breath, to the throne room.

"Oh? Pray tell what ever might that be?"

"M-Mask has a-asked for y-your audience."

The Quincy lord nodded, before venturing to the laboratory, where Ichigo and Jugo already stood.

"Ah it seems you two have gained quite the spy network for you to learn of the situation before even I did."

"Nah your just getting slow in your old age dad." Ichigo turned, hiding the grin on his face from the scowling older man.

"Ungrateful little brats…"

"WELCOME YOUR MAJESTY! BEHOLD THE SITUATION WE NOW FIND OURSELVES IN!" the lead scientist called out with a thunderous roar. The eccentric man proceeded to gesture towards a large monitor, which flickered to life a moment later.

On the screen was a group of Shinigami, trudging through the deserts of Hueco Mundo and nearing one of the hidden encampments that the Quincy had setup.

"Oh my how bothersome. If they discover our devices that are siphoning the spiritual energy from the area and report this back it will become quite irritating for us in the future."

"They are roughly a half day from our base camp your highness, what are your commands?"

Ichigo turned to the over muscled man, a bit concerned at the change in his tone.

Normally Mask was… well about as subtle and quiet as a flaming train smashing into a fireworks factory.

Now the man's face had an eerily sadistic smile adorning it. If the orange haired boy wasn't so confident in his own abilities he would be quite 'creeped out' by the situation.

"We certainly cannot reveal our presence any more than we have already risked. I believe the best course of action would be to once more allow our opponents the chance to destroy each other."

"I shall have our forces set it up immediately your majesty."

Yhwach nodded towards his scientist, before leaving for his war chamber to continue preparing for the future conflict, with his sons close behind.

 _***RitL***_

The 'clown faced' Captain growled in annoyance as he read through the latest reports. Hollows were being killed at a continuously faster rate. Fairly soon and they would be forced to take counter balancing actions.

Glancing through the information he noted that none of the Gotei 13's forces were deployed in Hueco Mundo, effectively ruling out anything that a lone Shinigami might be doing. It was possible that forces from the World of the Living were responsible but highly unlikely at this point.

"Sir, perhaps it is time to inform the other Captains of our findings."

Mayuri turned towards his third seat, Akon, with a slight frown, "Not until we have more information. Could you imagine how much our reputation would be sullied if we came before a convened council and did not have all of the information necessary to make a decision? We would be the laughing stock of the Soul Society!"

"But sir this could very well pose a danger to all of the Seireitei, what happens if..."

"If what? Whoever is doing this attempts to attack us as well? They are killing mindless beasts and a handful of remaining Arrancar. They pose no threat to the Shinigami, especially with our increased forces due to the Visored being reinstated and our allies in the World of the Living. There is no need nor reason to panic or escalate this any further for the time being. If the situation worsens then we shall deal with it when appropriate. For now though we shall act as _scientists_ and observe."

"Y-yes sir... I shall continue recording the information as ordered."

Kurotsuchi nodded, before returning his gaze to the monitors before him. True the readings were a bit... disturbing... but nothing that they could not handle if given enough time.

 _***RitL***_

"Why the hell are we in the God forsaken shit hole again?"

"Because you are a bunch of idiot rookies and for _some_ reason I got assigned to keep your asses alive."

"Yeah whatever... but why here?"

"Because according to intel there is some 'suspicious activity' going on and they want us to do some recon."

"So we are in the middle of a barren wasteland, full of monsters and enemies from the previous war without backup all because some 'strange stuff' is happening?"

"Yeah that's about right, you got a problem with that?"

"No sir not at all, in fact I think it is a fine idea. I can clearly tell it was well thought out and it has taken into account all variables along with putting our personal safety above any meaningless goals. A fantastic idea _sir_."

"Well it was either this, or you volunteer to help Captain Kurotsuchi with some 'experiments'."

The younger man paused while the, thus far silent, remainder of the small group watched on.

"Fine whatever, let's just hope we don't run into any Arran..."

"Uh sir" one of the other Shinigami suddenly spoke up, pointing at a strange object flying towards them.

"Scatter!"

The warriors did as commanded, taking cover behind nearby dunes as the object, around the size of a child, fell to the ground. It was an large metallic disc with odd symbols carved into it, after the device landed it appeared dormant, not performing any further action.

"What was tha..."

Before another of the Shinigami, a young female, could finish the ground began to shake as a massive Hollow tore its way from the sands and attempted to devour one of their teammates.

"Spread out, surround and take it down!" The leader shouted, while the others began frantically attacking the creature to draw it's attention.

A combination of luck and teamwork lead the Shinigami to prevail a few moments later, with a lucky squad member impaling the creature through its head.

Panting from exertion the others took stock of their light injuries before turning to their commander.

"N-nicely done guys... and girls... you have all had your first battle of..."

"S-s-sir..."

Again the female raised her hand and pointed, this time out into the deserts that surrounded them.

As the man followed her gesture his eyes widened in horror, hundreds of Hollows of every shape and size began converging onto them from all sides.

"DEFENSIVE POSITIONS! You two contact command and..."

The group found itself cut off, and eventually slaughtered by the sheer number of opponents. Just as the Hollows began to feast upon them the coin-like device that had begun the encounter began to glow, before exploding violently.

All of the Hollows, and whatever remained of the Shinigami force, were instantly destroyed in the eruption of Spiritual Energy.

 _***RitL***_

"Hmmmm, well it didn't work _exactly_ as planned but it still did it's job." Mask mused, as he watched the results of his 'experiment.

"Indeed, quite an interesting upgrade of the normal Hollow bait you developed years ago."

"Still though... it detonated a bit too early, I was hoping it would draw in a few more creatures and prolong the enemy's suffering just a few more minutes. Oh well I suppose even I cannot be right all of the time."

Yhwach smiled towards his chief scientist, before patting him on the back. "I am sure you will get it next time."

"INDEED! I SHALL BRAVE THE HALLS OF SCIENCE UNTIL MY MISSION IS COMPLETE YOUR MAJESTY!"

The Quincy lord shook his head, wondering if all scientists were this strange.

 _***RitL***_

They were the elite of the elite, the most powerful Shinigami, save for the old man, to ever live. They were Squad Zero, the Royal Guard.

They were power incarnate, and now they had been summoned by their lord and master, the Soul King himself to gather in his personal chambers.

And so they stood, five stood before a God upon his throne.

"You have summoned us your excellency?"

" _Indeed Ichibe"_ The figure spoke out in a voice that sounded… off, like it wasn't composed of normal sound or speech, as if it was unnatural to occur in this world. _"I have seen a great… disturbance in Hueco Mundo. The Quincy have returned… my son has returned."_

The Royal Guard gasped at the insinuation.

"B-but sir surely there must be a mistake! Yamamoto killed the traitor himself! There is no way he could have survived!" The tallest man called out desperately.

" _Was there a body recovered?"_

The five that stood before him hesitated, knowing the answer but realizing what was being suggested. "N-no your excellency but…" the wide woman began, before being interrupted.

" _Then he isn't dead. I would have thought all of you would have learned that by now after facing the Menos for so long…"_

"A thousand apologies your excellency. We shall inform the Soul Society and have them deploy…"

" _No, do not inform them."_

The monk paused, a bit shocked at his king's declaration.

The spinster decided to speak up for the first time, "But your excellency… if the Quincy have indeed returned in force then we must ensure their destruction once and for all. If they are not warned…"

" _They have become_ _ **pathetic**_ _in this time of peace. Children infiltrating the Seireitei and defeating Captains, officers going rogue and siding with Hollows, and now this. They should have been more aware of the happenings in Hueco Mundo. It is their own hubris that has caused this downfall. They believe themselves untouchable when they have been shown otherwise. No we shall allow them to continue on this path. If the worst happens then you five shall eliminate the threat."_

"Of course sire, we are yours to command."

With a wave of his hand the five vanished in a flurry of _Shunpo_ , leaving the God King to his thoughts. True the Quincy themselves were not much of a threat, the Court Guard would undoubtedly defeat most of them.

The only true threat was his son, and he was fairly certain that the Royal Guard would deal with him easily enough.

But something still bothered him, a small sliver of doubt in the form of a young boy taken from his destined path years prior. A child who had been fated to bring down his son and those who followed him, who would restore the natural balance to the world and end the Quincy corruption once and for all.

Now though… he had been taken and corrupted as well. The only question remaining was how would this influence the future itself?

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

" _Captains of the Gotei 13, we are in a grave situation. Less than one hour ago several enemy agents appeared in my office and handed me an official declaration of war against us."_

 _The various officers began muttering to themselves, trying to alleviate the worry and confusion present in the room._

" _It appears as though our enemies are those from long ago. Roughly one thousand years to be precise."_

" _Ah so it was the Quincy after all?"_

 _***Omake: Soul King's Intervention ***_

The Royal Guard hastily made their way into the Royal Chambers of the Royal Palace located in the Royal Realm… some of them began wondering why everything had to be named as such but… well who were they to question stupid naming conventions?

In actually it had been Ichibe's fault, at least partially. How was he supposed to take the time and name _everything_ in existence? Did the Soul King not know how much _crap_ was in existence? Ichibe, in fact, did… and it was a lot… thus some things just had to accept the stupid names to save time.

"YOUR HIGHNESS WE HAVE ASSEMBLED!"

" _Good good, I am happy that…"_

"Um sir… why are you talking in that creepy manner?"

" _What do you mean? This is how I always talk."_

"No sir it isn't… you are doing that weird Cthulu thing again."

" _Ah my apologies_ , much better. Would have been quite weird if for some reason I talked differently despite having a normal appearance and body huh?"

"Indeed sir, now what is your will?"

"My Squad Zero, I have a mission of the utmost importance. I have seen… THE FUTURE!"

The others gasped, before remembering that this was a rather common thing for the man.

"What have you seen oh prophet?"

"I have seen… holy crap the things I have seen!" The man… God… thing… paused, before pulling out a flask and taking a long drink. "You just… you don't even know man! Okay so quick rundown, and make sure you take notes because my Shinigami down below are going to need to know this too."

Promptly Oetsu took out a sword from… who knows where, and summoned a nearby servant.

"First off… Aizen is totally a traitor, like the biggest dick of them all. Also Tousen is too and Gin _looks_ like he is but isn't, he is just trolling us all. Next there is this thing called the _Hogyoku_. It is super important so someone go take it from the asshole and make Urahara do some sciency bullshit and get rid of _both_ of them. Next tell him not to make Yoruichi into a cat-demon-thing because that is lame. Also Aizen's sword mind controls people basically so kill him from behind or like don't look at it or whatever. Next there is a kid in the Living World named Ichigo Kurosaki… not sure how _everyone_ missed this but he is super important so go bring him here and start his training in case we fuck this whole plan up. Finally, my son is coming back and is like… watching from the shadows? Or something? Whatever go make Urahara pull some _Deus Ex Machina_ on that shit so we can go murder him before he is back up to power. Also he loses his power in his sleep so I would just kill him at night."

The random servant was crying in pain as the message was slowly carved into his back with the blade, then his arms, then his chest, then his legs, then his face… Oetsu wrote really big so it took up a lot of space…

"Got it sir, anything else?"

"Uh… oh yeah that Orihime Inoue girl, she is like two years old right now, someone go watch her or something. Apparently she is super powerful and defies all the rules of existence but forgets she can do that a lot so… yeah…"

"Of course sir! Will that be all?"

"Hm… no that should be it for now, if you will excuse me I need to go make sure that my hands and heart are still attached to my body because apparently they revolt too and turn into… Quincy? Or something? Whatever it seems like something I should be actively trying to prevent so I'm off!"

 _***RitL***_

And like that Aizen was arrested, Urahara destroyed the Hogyoku's, Ichigo and Orihime were trained to not suck so much, and Yhwach was shanked in the face while he slept.

"Could you imagine what would have happened if the Soul King had just… not told us any of this?" Tenjiro asked his partner, Shutara, as she was stabbing the Quincy lord in the neck with needles, she thoroughly believed in the idea of the 'double tap' after the man had inexplicably survived being vaporized before.

"Indeed, I bet a bunch of really cool characters would have died in really stupid ways that would have infinitely pissed off fans or something."

They both paused, then laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea.

***A/N***

So I hate the Soul King in Bleach, he was shown as being this all powerful all important figure and then… did nothing? Hell we don't even know _what_ he really did in the story. We get vague answers such as "he is the linchpin" and crap like that but nothing definitive.

Thus like most other things from canon I have decided to take the concept… and twist it into something far more interesting. In my version the Soul King is going to be an actual important figure, and a key part of why the Quincy do what they do.

As for why he didn't warn anyone… well he didn't in canon either did he? If Yhwach was correct and the Soul King 'saw' everything in the future you would have thought he would send a message to Soul Society, maybe something along the lines of "by the way my son is back and is probably gonna murder you all. You might want to look into that."

But nope, he apparently is content with getting murdered and putting all of creation at risk to… be cryptic or something?

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Ichigo (presumed)

Jugo (presumed)

 **Sternritter/Vollstandig:**

A

B

C

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F

G **The Golem** Irmine

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I

J

K

L

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N

O

P

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz

S

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y

 _Z_


	12. Prelude to War

**Raised in the Light**

Prelude to War

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

Yhwach was facing a conundrum.

Part of him, the half that desired vengeance and, ironically enough, thought logically about the future wanted to 'inform' the Shinigami about their intentions as he strolled through their streets and watched their city burn to the ground. He wanted to see that shocked look on the old bastard's face as he ran his blade through his chest while his people lay crying around him. He wanted a complete and utter decimation of their forces... and he wanted it all done by surprise attack. He wanted them to understand _exactly_ what they had done to deserve such things. That the slaughter of innocent people, of children, had consequences that would never be forgotten.

But still there was another side, a portion of his brain that cried out to be 'better' than those they were going to destroy. A part of his soul that wanted to show his people, to show his sons, that they could and _would_ be kinder than the monsters they were exterminating. This half wanted to make the war official, to declare it against the Seireitei in a manner worthy of a Quincy and allow them time to prepare. But this would also mean higher casualties for his people. Giving the bastards time to build defenses, to train, and to plan would only delay the war.

It would cause more bloodshed for his family.

What would be his decision? It had to be his, he would never force his sons to make such a call. Should he bring forth a small council to vote? Maybe even collect the remaining Sternritter and have them give their own suggestions?

The Quincy lord sighed, before rising out of his chair to stroll towards his balcony, and the open air, once more. The elder man gazed out over his country, over his people that were just settling down to sleep and shook his head. He envied them, for he would be receiving no rest tonight.

 _***RitL***_

"Mmmm right there"

"Just like this?"

"Maybe a bit rougher... oh God yes..."

Ichigo smirked a bit, as he looked at the black haired woman beneath him. He was infinitely glad that their 'relationship' had progressed to the level that such intimacy was acceptable. In fact he had been hoping for it a bit sooner.

"Do you do this with your two 'roommates'?" Bambietta inquired, letting out a gasp of pleasure.

"Yeah, wow you feel really tight by the way, Nel was the first to 'volunteer' but Harribel took a bit of convincing."

"Mmmhmmm" At this point the Quincy couldn't care less _what_ he was doing with the two Arrancar, so long as he continued with his current task.

"Do you want me to use some more lotion?"

The woman nodded slowly, already half asleep as the man chuckled before continuing his back massage. Bambietta had been, much like the dark skinned Espada, initially reluctant to let me pamper her in such a way, but after he began... well there was a reason that Nelliel said he had 'magic hands'.

"If you keep doing this I might just have to propose to you Ichigo..."

The orange haired boy winced slightly at the woman's drowsy comment. They still were not officially in a 'dating' relationship and both agreed that it was for the best. True they were bonding over training, and simply relaxing together, but he still had not recovered over the loss of his former love.

Bambietta had understood and simply wanted to progress as friends for the time being.

Recently though, in the past week especially, she had begun dropping tiny hints of her attraction towards him, and wanting to progress to a more intimate relationship. It had started off as a few joking comments, which lead into her more frequent 'invasions' of his personal space. It seemed like she would make any, and every, excuse just to make some sort of physical contact with the young man.

Still, despite his heart wanting to feel that sort of connection again, Ichigo could not simply forget about Vanda. It had been two months since her passing, and his father's insistence that they continue preparations for the primary aspect of the war, but it still felt too soon.

Too many emotions were still nagging at the edge of his mind, threatening to spill out into his normal life.

He still woke up with the occasional nightmare, seeing her dying on the sands and crying out for him to save her.

It was times like this he wished nothing more than to have someone simply _tell_ him what to do.

 _***RitL***_

The Quincy lord strode into what had become known as the 'war room' of the palace. There the other members of the Sternritter sat, patiently waiting... or they would have been except for the fact that Bazz-B and Lutz had grown bored in the three minutes and thus began pestering the others.

"I'm just saying we could commission a really big pool and then I use my power to heat it up. Think about it, a room sized hot tub for our meetings. Can you imagine how much more productive that would be?"

Yhwach took it upon himself to further 'investigate' this idea, "I do not, perhaps you could enlighten me Bazz-B?"

The red haired man promptly sat down, quietly muttering out an apology, much to the amusement of the other Quincy.

"I would like to call this meeting to order. The agenda for today is the overview of our first invasion of Soul Society and the objectives for it. Jugo would you care to begin?"

"Of course father, as you all know the primary military power of the Gotei 13 lies in their Captain class combatants. Not only that but those individuals also provide the leadership and strategic resource that all other Shinigami depend upon. If we were to cut them off and eliminate them the rest of their forces would fall apart."

"We will still need to account for their reinforcements from the World of the Living and the Royal Guard. As powerful as both forces are it could prove disastrous if we allow them to unite together." Ichigo pointed out.

"That is why we will not be patiently waiting for them to gather and counter attack. Our priority in this first battle is to eliminate several high priority targets and cripple a large portion of their forces. After which we will withdraw and take further stock of their casualties against ours."

"Your majesty is that the best idea? If we retreat without finishing them off then they will be able to unite together and pose a serious threat to us."

"That is true Kort, however I am not foolish enough to assume we will be able to eliminate all of their primary force before reinforcements arrive. Normally I would target their forces in the human world first but I have no intention of causing wide scale destruction to the civilian population. What we must decide now is what our targets will be in the first assault."

"According to the 'Art of War' book that we memorized I suggest that we pick the most dangerous long term enemies first and foremost just in case this conflict continues longer than anticipated."

"Ah a wise idea Ichigo, whoever made you study such a thing is obviously quite the intelligent man." Yhwach praised, before turning his attention back to the other Sternritter, ignoring the annoyed glare that his son had sent him.

They were both _well aware_ that it had been the Quincy leader who had demanded that his sons both read the novel.

A small screen flashed on, displaying over a dozen pictures and names of enemy combatants.

"As you can see I have made a list of the most powerful and dangerous of the enemy officers. Not only this but I have also asked Mask to note any others that he would have deemed as potentially 'dangerous'. Finally, all of the 'Enders' that are not currently on our side are shown as being highlighted in red. They are the most dangerous and thus must be approached with caution."

The others nodded at their emperor's command, while studying the information presented to them.

"Your majesty, what about those highlighted in blue?" A man by the name of 'Ubel' inquired.

"They are what we have designated as 'Potential Enders'. They are not _nearly_ as dangerous as the others but could prove to be quite problematic in the future if they are not disposed of early on. I suggest that all of them be terminated in the first wave."

 _***RitL***_

Captain General Genryusai Yamamoto glared up in annoyance at the white cloaked men who had appeared in his office. Chojiro had already drawn his blade and was currently standing several feet away from the men in preparations to attack.

Yet the strangers had made no move to arm themselves or make any offensive actions at all. In fact the only thing they had done, besides rudely interrupt his afternoon tea, was extend a small letter to him.

Taking the offered object, the older man's eyes widened as he saw the seal that was bore upon the paper.

The symbol of the Quincy.

"Consider this our formal declaration of war against the Seireitei and the Shinigami. Unlike you our emperor believes in informing his enemies of our presence prior to engagement. Otherwise we might seem like murdering psychopaths."

The Shinigami leader narrowed his eyes in a glare at the three cloaked figures before him.

"His majesty has deemed it appropriate to give you twenty-four hours' notice before judgment is rendered upon you. Use this time well to make peace with whatever God you so desire."

Just as the silver haired man charged in, attempting to strike down those who dared declare such a thing, the men vanished into thin air.

 _***RitL***_

"Hey Bambietta... can we talk?"

The girl nodded nervously, she was well aware that it was _never_ a good thing to hear when someone spoke those words.

Following her friend, maybe even boyfriend, into a nearby room, and watching as he closed the door behind him simply confirmed her suspicion that this was not going to be pleasant.

Ichigo stood silent, for what felt like hours, contemplating what to say. "I really like spending time with you."

The black haired Quincy let out the breath she wasn't aware that she had been holding.

"Y-yeah I like that too, I mean who _wouldn't_ want to spend time with me? I am pretty awesome if I do say so myself."

His mouth turned upwards in a slight smile, showing his gratitude for her helping to lighten the mood. "Yes you are... and that is sort of the problem. I... do you have feelings for me?"

Once more the knots formed in the woman's stomach. "Ichigo I... of course I do."

"I figured, just wanted to make sure... I know you have been hinting at it for a bit..."

" _Hinting?_ I would say it was more like me writing 'hey Ichigo I like you' on my forehead."

The young man chuckled, nodding his head in agreement. "Yeah, sorry I haven't really taken the time to talk to you about it until now. I just... I don't know what to do Bambietta. I care about you... a lot... and it feels like I am betraying her."

'Ah so that is the problem' the woman mused, finally understanding why he had seemed a bit distant the last few days.

"I understand Ichigo, I feel the same way too sometimes. She was one of my first friends here and she gave her life to save mine. I would never want to... well you know."

"So what do we do?" With his inquiry the orange haired boy fell back onto a couch, seemingly in frustration.

"Well I think we should think about what _she_ would say if she was here. I think we can both agree that Vanda was about the nicest, sweetest person to ever live. I know she wouldn't have wanted either of us mourning her or holding back on life because we were afraid that we would upset her memory."

"Yeah you are right I just... I don't want to 'replace' her with you. I want to keep her in my heart and not betray that and at the same time I don't want to think of you just as some sort of 'rebound'. You deserve someone who can care about you with everything that they are, without holding back."

She nodded in understanding, "I agree". A silence fell over the room for a few moments before Bambietta once more broke it, "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know anymore; this has been driving me nuts for way too long and... God I just wish I could _ask_ her."

"But we can't. As much as neither of us wants to admit it she is gone Ichigo. It isn't fair, or nice, or kind but it happened. All we can do now is remember her and make sure that she didn't die in vain."

Ichigo nodded, before watching as the other Quincy rose, and slowly sat down next to him, before taking his hand in her own.

"How about we just take it slow for now? I know she would have wanted us to be happy so we will just see where this leads us."

He nodded, and awarded her with one of his warm smiles as the room fell into a comfortable silence once more.

 _***RitL***_

"Captains of the Gotei 13, we are in a grave situation. Less than one hour ago several enemy agents appeared in my office and handed me an official declaration of war against us."

The various officers began muttering to themselves, trying to alleviate the worry and confusion present in the room.

"It appears as though our enemies are those from long ago. Roughly one thousand years to be precise."

"Ah so it was the Quincy after all?"

All eyes turned towards the Twelfth Division Captain, earning themselves a creepy smile from the man. "I figured they were responsible for the situation in Hueco Mundo."

"Situation? Why was I not informed about this?" The oldest man growled out.

"Because it did not warrant your attention at the time. We had no evidence that whatever was destroying large groups of Hollows would pose any threat to us what so ever and thus it was investigated in secret. Recently one of our scouting parties was destroyed by a large army of Hollows but now I assume it had something to do with the Quincy as well."

"If you had informed us of this earlier then perhaps..."

"Captain General perhaps if _you_ had done your job a thousand years ago _we_ would not be in this situation hm?" The painted man shot back, earning glares from several other experiences Captains. "The fact of the matter is that we had no concrete evidence one way or another that they had returned until now. So rather than give useless information we decided to continue doing _our_ jobs."

"We _will_ speak of this again after this situation is over Captain Kurotsuchi, regardless now is not the time. We have roughly twenty-three hours left until they promised an attack. We must make all necessary preparations to ready ourselves for this."

"Captain General I propose that we send my lieutenant to Karakura town and have her make contact with our allies there. If the situation truly is dangerous we will need all of the help that..."

"Bah we don't need those wimps Ukitake, we can take care of these assholes just fine by ourselves. Besides this just means more fun for us." The blood thirsty Captain interrupted, his smile twisting into one of malicious glee.

"That is foolish Captain Zaraki" Hitsugaya spoke up with a calm tone, "we cannot risk another 'Winter War' situation. I suggest we make contact with Squad Zero as well to enlist their aid."

All eyes slowly turned towards their leader, seeking his approval in the matter.

"We are the Gotei 13. We do not require outside assistance to fight our battles. We have dealt with Aizen and his army of Arrancar, and even the Quincy a millennium ago. We can deal with them again now."

Shunsui shook his head, not for the first time doubting his commander's decision.

 _***RitL***_

"It appears as though the Quincy have made their first mistake."

"Yo yo yo, old man has gone wack. Why didn't he just attack? Now that we know they will be expecting the blow."

"I think it was rather nice of them" The pink haired woman noted, earning slight glances from Shutara and Oetsu. "Instead of just attacking like cowards they actually did a formal declaration of war."

The woman didn't realize the insult she had made, not knowing the history of the war between the Shinigami and Quincy, and thus was surprised when Ichibe growled out in anger.

"They _should_ have stayed dead. _He_ should have stayed dead as was decreed. Now it looks like we might have to clean up Yamamoto's mistake once again."

"They haven't made any attempt to contact us and the Spirit King had directly forbid our involvement for now. Is there something we can do in the mean time?"

"We will begin making preparations to intervene in the war below. Undoubtedly the Quincy will lose, but there is a slight chance that it might become problematic for our forces." The monk answered the tall thin man.

"What about the Royal Palace? Should we begin making defensive plans for..."

"Of course not" Shutara snapped at their newest member, who cringed at the tone. "The Royal Palace cannot be entered by any not possessing the _Oken_ even _you_ should know that by now."

"O-okay"

The five members of Squad Zero returned their 'all seeing' gaze towards the situation in the Seireitei, ensuring that should assistance be needed that they would be ready to deploy.

 _***RitL***_

'Ridiculous' the Captain commander scowled as he paced back and forth in his empty office, 'absolutely ridiculous.'

The oldest Shinigami was not used to situations such as this one. Not that war was new to him, far from it, but the _hesitance_ he now felt. It was almost a feeling of... fear.

'There is nothing to fear from them. We destroyed them before and we will do so again. This time we have far more officers and soldiers, improved technology, and the defensive advantage.' Yet despite his attempts the man simply could not ease the feeling inside of his chest.

Perhaps it was the narrow victory they had managed to obtain over a treacherous Captain and his Arrancar forces. The Gotei 13 had outnumbered Aizen as well in their battle and yet...

 _***Flashback***_

"What will you do now Captain General?" Aizen cockily called out at, "now that your powers are sealed away and your officers lay defeated. I want you to watch as your precious Seireitei is destroyed and that _thing_ you worship dies. Then I shall become a God, and all shall worsh..."

"Oh come now _Captain_ Aizen, do you really believe we would just sit back and let you destroy our home town? I thought I knew you better than that."

"Kisuke Urahara" the traitor growled out, as he noted the arrival of not only the blonde genius, but also Isshin, Yoruichi, and Tessai.

"You know it you sick bastard, since the old man over here is getting his ass handed to him we thought we would drop by, say hello, maybe shove your face into the ground a couple of times for old time sake."

"Isshin Shiba, I thought you would be more concerned about your daughters' safety rather than interfering where you have no business."

"Nah my girls are fine, just finishing up kicking the asses of your remaining Espada."

"It does seem that they performed rather poorly doesn't it? Oh well I suppose I can always create more after I become God of this world."

"Yeah yeah enough talking, let's break this asshole's face already." the dark skinned woman cheered, before charging forward with blinding speed.

 _***End Flashback***_

Even with the assistance of the other outcasts, and the two 'substitute Soul Reapers' who appeared later on in the battle they had been hard pressed for victory. Due to the man's fusion with the _Hogyoku_ he was near invulnerable, and every time they had managed to gain even a slight advantage he had simply evolved and increased in power.

In the end it had been an unlikely ally that created the window of opportunity for Urahara to activate his seal and end the war.

Gin Ichimaru had stealthily activated his _Bankai_ and then betrayed his former commander, using it to dissolve the ex-Captain from the inside out. Thus Aizen had been weakened enough that a series of attacks were able to drain his power away enough for the artifact to reject him, and thus leading to his defeat.

For his efforts Gin had been reprieved from execution, although he was still imprisoned for the foreseeable future due to his crimes.

But still they had won. Their triumph had been without casualties on their side, and even without the intervention of the Royal Guard. If they could win against such odds and expertise, then there should be no question of their victory in this new war.

But still something bothered him.

This was not some former Captain with a God complex and a habit of creating elaborate schemes. No, if Yhwach truly had returned then even with his full strength Aizen paled in comparison. The man would have had _centuries_ to rebuild his forces, since apparently he had done so without their knowledge. Not only that but he had apparently discovered a way to infiltrate their defenses without anyone noticing.

That was disturbing in and of itself, but the worst part was that his own soldiers did _not_ have the element of surprise this time.

There was no question among the original Captains that they had been so successful due to the manner in which they attacked. The Quincy were not given time to prepare or devise a strategy, and Yhwach was caught off guard.

This time though... this time there would be not 'cheap shots', no surprise attacks. This war would end the dispute among scholars of which was greater, the Shinigami or the Quincy. This conflict would prove, or disprove, once and for all which faction would take control of reality.

There would be no mercy, no second chances for either side. The Quincy would hunt them down to the last to avoid the same mistake he had apparently made.

The Shinigami would do the same upon their victory.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _Thus the man strolled through the fortress that functioned as the command center for the Shinigami themselves, intent on finding the object that was so very valuable._

 _It was a bit ironic, that the defenses setup to secure the most important structure of the Soul Society would also prove to be its downfall once more. Completely shielding it from any sort of detection from the outside meant that the Quincy lord and his two sons had no need to conceal their presences._

 _Once more the Shinigami thought themselves to be untouchable._

 _Once more they were mistaken_

 _***Omake: Swift and Terrible Vengeance Pt. 1 ***_

"Ladies and gentlemen we have a serious situation. It appears as though we..." Gin paused for dramatic effect "have been betrayed!"

Dramatic music emanated from... somewhere, while Ichimaru turned to his remaining 'subjects'. "Yes I understand the gravity of the situation. For our own officers to do such a thing..."

The man paused, and wiped imaginary tears from his eyes.

"BUT FEAR NOT! We shall have our VENGEANCE!"

The silver haired Shinigami turned and departed, cackling madly.

Meanwhile his remaining 'soldiers' stared at his retreating form with unblinking eyes. Dark and soulless like a dolls eyes... mainly because they were, in fact, just stuffed animals and thus had no souls or eyelids to use for blinking.

 _***RitL***_

Kakashi was having a good day, no scratch that he was having a fantastic day. It had started off with him sleeping in well past when he was supposed to meet his team, the spoiled brats, and followed with no less than two hours in front of the memorial stone.

Truly there were times where he felt that the only ones who understood him were the names carved upon that beautiful rock.

Afterwards he ran a few errands around Konoha, picking up groceries and the such, until he discovered _it._

The newest Icha Icha novel had just been published and made available for purchase.

Truly it was a glorious day.

After buying several copies, one never knew when they would come in handy, Kakashi prepared to begin his reading, when he was interrupted by a high pitched screeching sound.

It was a horrific sounding battle cry, like a cat in labor mixed with someone running nails down a chalkboard and Gai shouting about 'youth' in the background.

And he had been having such a _nice_ day...

"SENSEI! THERE YOU ARE!"

"Ah Sakura I was just busy contemplating the meaning of life when I overheard an assassination plot against the Hokage, naturally I sprung into action and apprehended the criminal through a battle of wits and skill. Unfortunately the man had prepared for this and laid a dastardly trap that would end the lives of several innocent young children if I..."

"LIAR!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes, the girl really did need to think up some better comebacks if she ever hoped to challenge him to a battle of wits.

"You are _supposed_ to be training us today, remember Sensei?"

The Jonin blinked, then blinked again in confusion. "Hm? Did you say something Sasuke?"

It wasn't his fault, the boy was so mono-toned that he literally would fall asleep when he spoke. He had begun using the phrase 'micro naps' for what would occur, and had been attempting to find a way to weaponize it against their enemies.

"Anyway I did not forget, I was just taking the scenic tour." the man took out his newly purchased book to begin his reading when he froze, his eyes opening wide in horror.

"No... no this isn't possible..." frantically the former ANBU began flipping through the book, desperate to find something he was looking for.

Meanwhile two of his three students looked on, puzzled at what was going on.

"Sensei are you okay?"

"It... it... it... IT'S CENSORED!? WHO WOULD COMMIT SUCH AN ATROCITY!?" The man promptly fell to his knees in depression, before reaching up to the sky and tilting his head back in emphasis.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

 _***RitL***_

From a nearby building a certain silver haired Shinigami looked on with glee. "I warned them of the consequences for betrayal. The Soul Society might have let Aizen-chan-san-kun get away with such things but _I_ do not."

***A/N***

All Sternritter will have their status' updated as time goes on per request.

I assume that many of you have already noticed the changes in canon, I will begin clarifying a few facts now.

Aizen was defeated, and sealed just as Urahara did before. The difference is that Karin and Yuzu were _not_ Ichigo and thus could not defeat the man by themselves. So instead the 'outcasts' decided not to wait until the last possible second and figured that teaming up with the most powerful Shinigami alive would be a pretty good idea.

Gin betrays Aizen far earlier on... because I still don't understand why he waited until the man was immortal to do so, thus he survived. Mainly because I really do like him as a character regardless of his entertainment value.

Ulquiorra _had_ survived the war, only to be killed several chapters ago.

Yuzu and Karin did not lose their powers, because they did not acquire the _Final Gestuga Tenshou_.

As for the current events, I feel as though Squad Zero would not have intervened even with advanced knowledge, because they sure as hell didn't when Aizen was murdering people.

Yamamoto was still an over prideful son of a bitch even when the Quincy were directly invading them so there seems to be no reason for him to ask for reinforcements.

Yhwach was a poorly developed Aizen replica in terms of tactical knowledge... so I am taking over for him. This means that he is actually going to make somewhat intelligent decisions regarding the war instead of just hurting a bunch of people and then letting them go.

This will also result in deaths... a lot of them. So here it is folks **There will be character deaths in future chapters!**

So do not message me complaining that your favorite character got killed, don't whine and cry when such and such is defeated and doesn't pull some miraculous recovery because they are "so cool". You have been warned.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Ichigo (presumed)

Jugo (presumed)

 **Sternritter/Vollstandig:**

A

B

C

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F

G **The Golem** Irmine

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I

J

K

L

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N

O

P

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz

S

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y

 _Z_


	13. Blood Invasion Pt 1

**Raised in the Light**

Blood Invasion Pt. 1

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"Right on time" The Captain Commander noted grimly, as he watched explosions tear through the Seireitei. It had indeed been one day just as the Quincy had promised. Twenty-four hours… and then war had started throughout the homeland of the Shinigami

He had warned his Captains, told them that despite their superiority they should not underestimate their opponents.

Now the only thing left to do was to see if they would heed his concerns, and to see how fast the Quincy would be crushed under their might.

Calling out to his lieutenant to stay behind and watch over their barracks the eldest of Shinigami took hold of his disguised _Zanpakuto_ and preparing himself for combat. Once the enemy appeared he intended on dealing with them himself.

 _***RitL***_

'How very interesting, it appears as though they are indeed making use of that explosive liquid that the Uryu boy utilized during the Hueco Mundo invasion.'

Mayuri continued studying the screen before him, noting the various fluctuations of energy and disturbances.

That is until the alarms in his personal chamber began screeching, eliciting a growl of annoyance from the man.

Apparently, someone had unleashed some sort of biological weapon _inside_ of the SRDI. Luckily the only two truly important individuals present were both in a completely isolated room.

Glancing over at his daughter, and noticing her lack of reaction, the scientist glared before gesturing towards the control panel on the opposite side. "Well, what do I keep you around for!? Start tracing the source... and have the others don their bio suits I suppose. Can't have everyone dying on me, now can I?"

"Of course father."

"And make sure that you secure a sample inside of that worthless body of yours while you are at it!"

"Yes father"

The painted man nodded, before returning his annoyed gaze upon the instruments before him.

 _***RitL***_

"Do you see that Yachiru? FINALLY, SOME ACTION!"

"Yay Kenny is happy again! Now we just need to find you some awesome opponents to kill!"

"DAMN STRAIGHT WE DO! ALRIGHT POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!"

"Uh Captain, perhaps we should..."

"I like that way!" The pinkette declared, pointing in a random direction and completely interrupting the bald man.

"THEN LET'S GO!"

The eleventh Division Captain charged forth with a psychotic laugh, intent on finding at least one decent battle.

"Should we follow them?"

Ikkaku gave an aggravated sigh, before nodding in defeat.

 _***RitL***_

"Attention all Sternritter, you have your orders. Keep to the plan and we shall have a triumphant victory this day."

The various knights nodded at the telepathic command before splitting up as they traveled through the portals into the Seireitei.

Truly Orlan's power was a formidable one. To be able to create doorways to any place he so deemed fit... it might not have been the most combat practical ability but the implications behind it was nearly war ending in and of itself.

But now Yhwach had another task to undertake, before he could take a step towards his vengeance. Business before pleasure after all.

Thus, the man strolled through the fortress that functioned as the command center for the Shinigami themselves, intent on finding the object that was so very valuable.

It was a bit ironic, that the defenses setup to secure the most important structure of the Soul Society would also prove to be its downfall once more. Completely shielding it from any sort of detection from the outside meant that the Quincy lord and his two sons had no need to conceal their presences.

Once more the Shinigami thought themselves to be untouchable.

Once more they were mistaken

 _***RitL***_

"S-sir p-please h-help" a scientist called out, as blood poured from his mouth and he fell over, dead.

Captain Kurotsuchi growled in annoyance, if this continued he would need to restaff his _entire_ Division.

How irritating

Glancing down the hallways the Shinigami caught sight of several more of his 'employees' limping towards the medical supply cabinet, while a few shuffled through it, desperate to find a cure for the disease killing them.

They would never make it in time.

Even with the one, a fairly pretty young girl, finding and taking a bottle of pills it would not change their fate.

It was then that the sadistic man heard a faint sound, one that sounded oddly like... singing?

"Ring around the rosie, pockets full of posies. Ashes, ashes we all fall down."

"Ah so you must be the one who is currently poisoning my minions."

The pale haired man looked up, a somewhat surprised expression on his face. "Oh my it appears that I did run into you after all. I was actually trying to avoid this confrontation but... well you are on 'the list' and I am here so..."

"A list eh? What exactly would this list be of?"

"Potential War Enders. His majesty didn't see you as a direct threat, more like a minor annoyance should you survive."

" _Potential_? How incredibly rude of your ruler, I assume that the Captain General _is_ on the list of _actual_ Enders though?"

"Indeed, along with your superior, Kisuke Urahara."

This brought a snarl to the pale faced man's face, who cursed the very name just mentioned. Of course, that bastard would be considered a _threat_ while he was not...

"Still though, no need to get upset. You will be dead in the next few minutes anyway, why spend them angry?"

"Oh? You mean this _minor_ disease you have spread among my Division? I have long ago perfected my immune system to fight off any poisons or infections. I think that you will find your ability quite ineffective."

"Ah man come on... why can't you just be a normal person and die like everyone else?"

Ignoring the man's slight rant, the Captain gathered his composure, and begun his analysis of the situation. "I wouldn't suppose you could inform me of your name and abilities? I would hate to have you listed as 'Test Subject 110-54' it is becoming so hard to keep track of these anonymous donors after all."

"Well since I plan on killing you and everyone else here anyway... why not? My name is Brune, and my title is **The Contagion**."

"Ah very interesting, very interesting indeed. I suppose we shall have to begin the dissection of you immediately though. I would love to continue our little chat but it appears that my fellow Captains have begun fighting your allies."

"A pity, too bad you will not..."

The man was interrupted, as a hand tore through the nearby wall and slammed into the Quincy's face. After being thrown through the opposite hallway Brune recovered, muttering in aggravation, before seeing a young woman standing before him, and in front of the Captain.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that my lieutenant has also been immunized?"

'This is going to be a long day' The Sternritter mused.

 _***RitL***_

Bambietta growled in annoyance at her assigned 'task'.

Next to her stood one of her friends, Rille.

"Something wrong Bambietta?"

"Oh of course not, I love being assigned the task of simply doing as much damage as possible to the Shinigami who pose no threat whatsoever to our plans. Makes me feel really important."

The other Sternritter rolled her eyes, "I agree it is not the most... glamorous of roles but one that must be accomplished. You know how men are after all, they seek to try and 'protect' us 'weak' women and prove their own superiority."

"Ichigo isn't like that" the black-haired girl replied with a pout.

"Perhaps not, he does seem to be different than most of the others. Regardless though we have our orders."

"Yeah yeah... kinda makes me feel bad though you know?"

The other woman shrugged before closing her eyes and summoning forth her power, one that had been specifically designed for combating mass opponents.

The other Quincy felt the familiar shiver run down her spine, one that designated the activation of a unique ability nearby.

Rille, or **The Legion** , possessed an ability that still gave her chills to this day. Glancing around she noticed the newly formed force standing around her, a faceless army that felt no fear, no remorse, no pain, no morale.

An army created by the will of a single woman.

"Go"

The mob began charging forth, just as various groups of low ranking Shinigami began gathering together to investigate the disturbance.

The initial clash was... one sided to say the least.

The creatures summoned by Rille were not flesh and blood, thus they could only be destroyed by anything short of dealing massive damage to their form. These men and women simply did not possess the power to do so.

Even if the Soul Reapers managed to connect with a lucky blow, they found themselves impaled upon the blade-like appendages of these faceless monsters.

The initial groups of enemies were slaughtered, and their cries of pain drew more to the area, exactly as anticipated. It was Bambietta's task to deal with any large formations, or officers, that approached.

Hundreds of glowing spheres composed of bright warm energy shot out from the woman, exploding once they came close to an opponent.

The results were devastating.

 _***RitL***_

"Hey you!"

Penrod spun around, and swore at who stood before him. He had been _really_ hoping to avoid fighting the psychopathic Captain, actually he had been hoping to avoid fighting _most_ of the Captains if he was being honest, but Zaraki was certainly on his list of 'avoid as much as possible'.

Possibly due to the man's blood lust, or his sheer power. Of course, it could also be the fact that his emperor has explicitly cautioned avoiding the man, who was considered one of the enemy War Enders.

And now, probably due to his horrendously bad luck, he was stuck fighting the man.

He really should have seen this coming considering his power...

Before he could ponder any further the man leapt backwards, avoiding the powerful overhand slash from his adversary.

"GIVE ME A GOOD FIGHT!"

The man sighed, before stepping backwards and avoiding another horizontal slash, only the leap over the Captains head, surprising the man and firing an arrow into his shoulder.

"Despite what you might think Captain Zaraki you should consider finding yourself a different opponent. My name is Penrod, and the ability bestowed upon me is **The Oracle**."

"Bah I don't care what your name is until you actually manage to do some serious damage to me! NOW LET'S MAKE THIS FUN!"

The man gave a sigh, before ducking under the thrust made by the man, and dodging out of the way from a heavy kick.

He tried to warn him, he really did. Despite not wanting to fight the man he was probably one of the best Sternritter to kill the Captain.

After all, Kenpachi was _extremely_ limited in his combat capacity... and you could not fight what you could not hit.

 _***RitL***_

Ichigo walked alongside his brother and father as they proceeded further and further through the central compound.

'Is this really even worth it? Surely father knows exactly what the outcome of this journey will be... I am just glad that Mask gave me some... insurance... should I prove correct.'

The orange haired boy loosely gripped the satchel that laid tied to his waist, as if to further ease the hesitance he felt.

"You need to relax a bit my son, we will not be in any danger."

"I know that father, it doesn't mean that I wish to be unprepared though."

Jugo glanced over to the other young man and smiled a bit. His brother had been going through a slow change for some time now, and was beginning to think and plan ahead rather than simply rushing in as usual. It merely reinforced the image he had of the orange haired Quincy leading them in the future.

"According to our intel the object is located beyond this door." The Quincy lord gestured to the obstacle before them. "Jugo if you would be so kind."

The blonde nodded, before cutting through the last barricade with a single slash.

As the three entered they beheld their target, an object within a tightly sealed case.

A key part of their eventual victory.

 _***RitL***_

"You there, halt!"

The two Quincy groaned a bit, before turning to face the one who interrupted them. He was easily identified as the Captain Komamura.

"You Quincy should have stayed hiding, now you shall face the true power of the Gotei 13!"

"I do not recall seeing any such important individuals here, perhaps you could point us in their direction rather than wasting our time?"

The anthromorphic man growled menacingly, before unsheathing his sword, "My name is Sajin Komamura, Captain of the seventh Division. Prepare to meet your end!"

"I really doubt one of your… caliper… can defeat the two of us but I suppose we do need to take down at least one of your kind before this is all over." The male announced, while the female looked on silently, "my name is Ubel and I have been given the letter 'I' for **The Impact**. The one who stands by me is Dearg, or **The Yield** if you prefer."

"Very well, prepare yourselves for death!" With that the Shinigami summoned forth his _Shikai_ and swung down the massive creature's blade, only for it to be halted at the last moment, stopped before it could cut either one of the Sternritter.

"Impossib…"

A split second later an arrow tore through the larger man's shoulder, eliciting a cry of pain as he leapt backwards.

Apparently, the man had drawn his bow, one in the shape of a crossbow, and fired before he had noticed.

"You really should consider retreating Captain-Sama. There is little chance for you to defeat us both."

The fox ignored the woman's suggestion, and summoned forth his _Bankai_.

 _***RitL***_

Brune had always had a… well some would call it obsession but he rather liked to think of it as a _fetish_ for blood. That being said he wasn't a huge fan of seeing his own sprayed across the walls of the research center.

The damn woman was far stronger, and tougher, than he had initially given her credit for. Even with these enhancements he probably could have won… if her 'father' wasn't busy trying out various defensive barriers and binding _Kido_ against him.

It was becoming rather… irritating.

"Ah very good, very good. It appears you do seem to be adapting to my _Kido_ quite nicely. In fact, you broke out of that one approximately .08 seconds faster than the previous!"

"Great for me, perhaps you wouldn't mind letting me fight just your daughter for a while instead of both of you assholes?"

"Oh no no no that won't do at all. The purpose of this is to gain data on your kind and their combat potential, not engage in silly standoffs for honor and such things. I will leave that to the ignorant other fools who populate the rank of Captain."

"Figures… I knew I should have chosen a different target. Ah well, I guess as long as both of you die it doesn't matter what you see at this point right?"

The masked man tilted his head curiously as their opponent began to lightly glow.

" _Vollstandig: God's Plague Bearer"_

The two Shinigami gazed on in curiosity as the man's form took a rather… grotesque change.

He now sported two wings, though they were dripping with some sort of fluid and appeared to be formed of lesions, tumors, and other miscellaneous growths.

Above his head floated a halo, which was cracked and blackened like scar tissue. But more obvious than both of these changes was his own body, which appeared to be decaying from various diseases and plagues.

The man looked as though he might die at any second, as his skin began to peel and rot off, and yet…

"Ah much better, I had forgotten how _good_ I feel in this form. But it does make pleasant conversations so very _difficult_ to have."

"Ah I can imagine, but this form of yours… just thinking of the research I will obtain makes me giddy with excitement!"

The man's daughter immediately charged forward, intending and dealing a finishing blow to please her father. She barely heard his command to halt before her fist connected, once again sending the Quincy flailing across the room and into an opposing wall.

This time, though, something was different. Looking down at her hand the girl's eyes widened as the skin on her hand began to blacken and rot away.

A second later a sword came down, cutting off her arm, courtesy of her superior. "Bah stupid woman! You should have assumed that his changed form would _also_ alter his powers. Thankfully I was able to remove that appendage before any more of your body was infected, and required replacement."

"Th-thank you Mayuri-Sama."

"Well that was quite the quick thinking you have there. I am impressed that you managed to prevent further infection. Once you make contact with me you _are_ infected. Every cell then rapidly infects the others until… well you are just lucky that her blood wasn't pumped through her body fast enough to spread the disease." The Quincy praised.

"So that means hand to hand combat is worthless against you. Let us test _Kido_ shall we?"

A golden chain wrapped itself around their target, only for it to rot away a few moments later, appearing diseased as well.

"I am infection itself, and even the strongest of immunity is nothing compared to me. I can even infect and rot your spells away. Now I suggest you dodge." With that the man pulled forth a bow, which appeared to be made of rotting flesh and blood, and began firing arrows at the two.

Both combatants managed to dodge out of the way before the Captain returned fire with an offensive _Kido_ spell, piercing the man's chest with a bolt of lightning.

"Aw man... and this was my nice shirt too..."

"Interesting, you do not seem to be very concerned about the internal damage you have just received."

"Yeah well that's probably because in this form it doesn't really matter. My insides are already ruined and destroyed, essentially the plagues and viruses themselves are keeping me functioning. Makes me pretty damn hard to kill wouldn't you say?"

The Shinigami frowned, although the Quincy was providing a wealth of knowledge he was also becoming exceedingly more and more irritating. What good was a test subject if you had to create a completely original way of containing and experimenting on it?

"Well it has certainly been interesting, but I feel as though this does present me with a unique opportunity to use a new invention of mine. Normally I would simply burn you alive with a high-level _Kido_ spell or some such nonsense but... well I might need the energy should my lab be attacked again."

With that the man turned and opened a nearby compartment, drawing a somewhat confused look by the man who deemed himself invulnerable to harm. After a moment of rummaging about the 'clown faced' Shinigami pulled out a large glass jar, and promptly threw it at the man, where it shattered, coating a large portion of his skin in a slimy blue substance.

"Really? That's it? I already told you I can't be infected or succumb to poisons so why would..."

Seconds later the Quincy fell, crying out in pain. "Ah yes I recall you so foolishly telling me. But you see the problem is that your _entire_ body isn't quite infected yet, a small portion of you _must_ remain uninfected for you to return to your previous state and to be able to use your abilities. The chemical I just coated you in is an extremely efficient immunity booster. Basically, I gave you the same immunity that myself or Nemu have... only at about a thousand times the dosage. Your body will start fighting back and killing off the very virus and plague that 'threatens' to consume it. Unfortunately, it seems as though the virus was keeping you alive and so... well it was fun Quincy."

With that the scientist turned, and beckoned his 'daughter' to follow him, leaving the man, screaming in pain, to his inevitable fate.

 _***RitL***_

'This guy is seriously pissing me off, what the hell is the fun of fighting someone if I can't even cut them!?'

Kenpachi was busy raging as he tried another attack, and was effortlessly dodged once more.

Letting out a sigh at the man's frustrations the Quincy decided to explain the futility of the situation. "I already told you this was a bad fight for you Zaraki. Do you think that my title counts for nothing? I can see moments into the future, which means you are never going to surprise or catch me off guard. None of your plans will ever come to fruition either. You are far too limited to defeat me in a one on one fight."

'That can't be right... he seemed rather surprised when I first caught him so maybe...'

Deciding to do a bit of the thing he hated most, strategizing, Kenpachi swung his sword down, launching a shockwave of power and crumbling the ground under them.

As the two fell the man launched a series of arrows, that were unable to hit the man due to the falling rubble.

'Just as I thought, he can't see _everything_.'

As the two landed the Captain grabbed a hurled a large chunk of rubble, at the man, who promptly dodged out of the way, only to be hit with a second that was thrown a second after the first.

"HAHAHAHA! THERE IT IS! You can only see one thing at a time huh jackass!?"

The Sternritter growled in annoyance at his weakness being perceived by the simplest of opponents.

He would only have a few seconds to ponder this, before his adversary sent another shockwave along the wall, forcing him to dodge from his position, and then leap backwards as the roof caved in on top of him due to the structural damage.

Just as this happened a sword slashed across his torso, Kenpachi having leapt forward just as the man was distracted.

"Not my ideal way to win but this battle was getting boring! Might as well finish up here and move onto someone more fun!"

"Ah but you don't quite seem to understand the position you are in Zaraki, you see..." A blinding flash of light forced the Captain to leap backwards, and then blink to clear his vision. Before him stood a transformed Quincy, one who wielded multicolored wings and a shimmering halo.

Most impressively though was that his wound was completely gone.

"The battle has only just begun."

***RitL***

It was impossible, an unheard-of event that should not even be able to occur. It had certainly never had in the history of Soul Society to date so why now?

Komamura watched on in horror as his Titanic _Bankai_ halted, and then bowed before the female Quincy.

A moment later it turned and raised its weapon against him, its master.

Dodging backwards the fox barely avoided the massive impact, albeit was thrown backwards by the force of the shockwave.

"As I told you already, Captain-Sama, my ability trumps yours. _Humility Before God_ grants me control over a single object that I designate, and I just so happen to choose your own power. True it would not work against something that has free will but... regardless.

Snarling the anthromorph charged forward, intending on killing the woman who had enslaved his weapon, only to be forced to block another powerful projectile from his other opponent.

Moments later a massive hand swatted him through a building.

"This is really sad, I know he is just a typical Captain but still..." Ubel muttered, before shaking his head. Even though they were very soundly beating their opponent it was taking a bit longer than he had originally anticipated. They needed to finish up and move on.

"Are you going to keep this thing or not?"

The woman glanced over at the man, who was making a subtle gesture towards the small Quincy amulet that was tied to her waist.

"No I suppose not; it is formidable but rather bland in the long run."

With a nod the man walked over towards the Captain, before unleashing his own power to finish up the battle.

The Shinigami was just emerging from the rubble as he noticed the wings appear on yet another of his enemies.

" _Vollstandig: Warrior of God"_

A moment later the Quincy emerged, clad in archaic armor and sporting wings that shimmered like metal.

"Now Shinigami… I give you permission to die."

From behind the man a wall of shimmering energy seemed to appear, and through it a massive assortment of weapons.

A slight gesture sent hundreds of them launching forward, tearing into the Captain and ripping him, along with the surrounding area, to pieces.

 _***RitL***_

Kenpachi was now facing an entirely _different_ kind of irritation. His opponent was no longer seeking to actively dodge, because after each cut the wound would miraculously disappear.

Unfortunately, the Captain's injuries were not the same, and thus he had received dozens of puncture marks across his body. Luckily his raw power and strength negated most of the damage, and he was sure that if he removed his eye patch he could escape relatively unharmed... but that would be _too easy_.

He would just keep cutting the bastard until the wounds stopped healing.

Deciding for a slightly different tactic the blood crazed man launched another shockwave along the sewer water, and moved through it to gain distance. The gamble indeed paid off when the Quincy's arm fell to the ground due to a vicious overhanded strike by the eleventh Division Captain.

Moments later the arm appeared back on his torso, as if it had never even been cut off.

"Okay what the hell is going on here? Do you have some sort of weird ass healing power or something? Cause that is for cowards!"

"Oh I can assure you it is not a healing ability, haven't you noticed my bruises from before are still there? No this is my new ability _Vollstandig: The Knowledge of God_. You see true knowledge is not only the ability to know the future, but also how to use it to change the past. My gift allows me to travel briefly back in time, thus negating all of your attacks on my body."

This idea was proven a moment later as Zaraki sliced through the man, cutting him in half. Only for the Sternritter to appear perfectly normal a moment later.

"As I said, I can negate _any_ damage in which you do to me."

'But not the bruises... he healed the first cut but not those, maybe...'

Suddenly the Captain was struck by inspiration, and proceeded to charge forward, ignoring the arrows that pierced into his body and stabbed into the man himself. As soon as the man attempted to dislodge himself he was grabbed by the throat, holding him there as he began to bleed out onto the _Zanpakuto_.

"I figured out your little trick, you can only heal things the same way as your premonition power. It only heals back a certain amount of time, otherwise you could heal those bruises, right? So, all I have to do is keep you impaled on my blade until you can no longer recover. Now the question is... who bleeds out first?" The last question was spoken with a sadistic grin as the Quincy tried desperately to flee, or put enough arrows into the man to force his release.

Despite this plan the Captain held on, even as their blood mingled together and the Wings lost their shimmer.

"Looks like you had a good fight after all Kenny" Yachiru happily chirped from above, watching the man fall against a nearby wall to stabilize himself.

Her answer was a terrifying grin from the man.

 _***RitL***_

In the darkest pit of Soul Society sat a man bound to a prison. For the last year or so the man had been pondering how exactly he had ended up in such a situation. His plan had been perfect, his plots flawless, and his ideas were beyond the feeble-minded Shinigami who placed him here.

Yet here he sat, bound to a pitiful chair like some sort of toddler. It was humiliating on a scale that was not in the least bit acceptable.

Perhaps the worst part of all though, was that his sanity was beginning to... waiver.

At first it hadn't been anything noticeable, his thoughts wandering a bit more than usual, but nothing to be concerned about.

Then a few months into his 'sentence' he thought he heard voices calling out to him from the dark.

It wasn't real, of course, but the way they seemed to echo...

Then there was the eerie feeling of being watched, as if he was under scrutiny like a rat. That simply would not be acceptable, no one would dare treat him with such disrespect!

Finally, a few months prior, he had begun having conversations with himself, the loneliness and lack of any real stimulation finally catching up to him.

It felt as if he would finally break... that is until _he_ arrived.

Where had this man come from? Was he real or just another illusion? Was it another form of torture that the Gotei 13 had concocted? Was it perhaps his _Zanpakuto_ enacting its will upon him for so easily abandoning it?

This man cloaked in white stood before him, with a blank face... until it turned into a smirk. "Ah how the mighty have fallen, I would have expected more from you Aizen Sosuke."

"Who are you, and to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Secretly the genius was just hoping to continue the conversation, anything to alleviate the insanity that was boring down on him.

"My name is Yhwach, and I have a proposal for you."

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _"My name is Chojiro Sasakibe, lieutenant of the first Division and apprentice to the Captain Commander himself."_

 _"Oh? The name is Bazz-B they call me_ _ **The Heat**_ _. I'm looking for a good fight, you interested?"_

 _For the first time in his memory the Shinigami grinned in excitement, finally he would show the others just how strong he was. Finally, he would make his commander proud._

 _***Omake: The Ultimate Question ***_

Aizen was busy... gazing off into the endless darkness like he usually did... at all times...

It was more irritating than 'torturous' to be sealed onto the stupid chair. His legs had been cramping for at least a month now and he had already gone through several crossword puzzles in his mind before growing bored of that as well.

Then he heard a door creak open, and shut behind.

Someone was here with him, but who? A former associate come to enact some petty form of vengeance? A secret disciple who wanted to free him and restart the war? A fan come for an autograph?

His question was answered a moment later as his 'prison' was roughly spun around, putting him face to face with his former lieutenant, Gin Ichimaru.

"Hello there _Captain Aizen."_ The silver haired man practically growled out, a fury in his eyes that sent a shiver even down the immortals spine.

"Gin, whatever do I owe the..."

"Can it asshole! I have questions... and you are _going_ to give me answers."

"Oh? And why would..."

"Immortal does _not_ mean invulnerable _Captain_ Aizen" the Shinigami spat out, sending another twinge of fear down the bound man's back.

It was true, with him being kept like this there was no way for him to defend himself, or even call for help. He was at the man's mercy. True he couldn't be killed, and most likely any major injuries would be regenerated but... well having someone slowly cut you to pieces would still be very uncomfortable, even for him.

"Ah I see we have an understanding. I have _so many_ questions for you, but so little time. I have thought about this day for so long you see? What I would ask when we finally met again, face to face. Would I ask you about why you tormented Rangiku? Would I inquire as to how heartlessly you disposed of your own lieutenant? Or would I begin by just cutting your eyes out of your skull over and over again until I produced a melody using your screams?"

The man seemed to pause, as if considering his options, much to Aizen's horror.

"But all of that... _all of that_ comes second to the most important question I have. This _will_ be answered _Captain Aizen_ or else... well use your imagination."

The seated man gulped then nodded, as the silver haired Shinigami gently brushed his fingers against his sheathed _Zanpakuto_ in warning.

"How... do you poop in that chair?"

Even the silence of Muken seemed to pale in comparison to that which now permeated the area.

"I mean obviously, you cannot get up and do it so do they like put a pan under you and cut a hole in the seat? Or did they make some _Kido_ which transports the poop somewhere else? Oooo maybe they gave you just the giant diaper and then somehow change it every week or something. Do you even poop at all at this point? Has your transcendence allowed you to grow beyond the needs of using a toilet? That would be truly fearsome Captain Aizen... truly fearsome indeed."

***A/N***

Sorry if some of the battles seem a bit rushed but... well this is part like one of four of the initial invasion and I have _a lot_ of battles to get to. I must say though, despite my initial fears that I wouldn't be able to create interesting Sternritter and Vollstandig, I am rather enjoying how they are turning out. I have had to modify a few but still... they seem at least a bit more interesting than the ones in actual Bleach.

Another major problem I realized in this chapter is making the enhanced powers useful, without putting the wielder in a position where they simply _can't_ be killed.

As for the little Aizen scene at the end, we don't find out why Muken is so awful so I imagine as sort of a sensory deprivation thing. No light, no sound, no taste, no smell… given enough time I feel as though even a genius would go insane with the lack of any contact.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Ichigo (presumed)

Jugo (presumed)

Genryusai Yamamoto

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A

B

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F

G **The Golem** Irmine

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J

K

L **The Legion** Rille

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz

S

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y **The Yield** Ubel - Humility before God

Z

 **Deceased Shinigami:**

Komamura


	14. Blood Invasion Pt 2

**Raised in the Light**

Blood Invasion Pt. 2

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"So you must be one of our 'invaders' eh?"

Shinji had to admit that the small blonde girl, who made him think back on Hiyori, seemed a bit too innocent to be involved in such a bloody affair. But that being said it was always those who appeared the least threatening who were the most.

"Yup that's me! My name is Irmine, **The Golem**. What is your name Shinigami-kun?"

"I am Shinji Hirako, I am surprised you did not know who I was though. Perhaps your forces aren't as informed as we were made to believe?"

"Oh they are, I just thought it would be rude not to ask what your name was since I gave you mine."

Again the girl gave a massive smile, causing the man before her to chuckle. Despite all that was going on it was… refreshing… to see such a happy child. The fact that they were going to be engaged in a fight to the death brought his mood down a bit a moment later.

"Well I suppose we should get going then huh? Although I would prefer to not have to fight you in single combat. Perhaps we could find some allies on both sides to join in?"

"Sorry no can do Shinji-kun, we were told that whoever ran into you had to keep you away from group fights. Apparently you like to make people see things backwards."

'So much for not knowing much about us.' The older man mused, before unsheathing his _Zanpakuto_. Strangely enough the girl made no motion to draw any weapon at all.

"Ummm, you might want to get a weapon out or something. This _is_ a fight after all."

"Oh don't worry about me, I don't like fighting so my friend will be doing it for me." Again a happy giggle filled the air. A second later energy seemed to draw itself from all corners of the area and coalesced into a large creature in front of the young blonde.

It was easily the size of Captain Komamura, and from its bulk the Visored guessed it was just as strong,

"Meet my friend, and the reason they call me 'The Golem', his name is 'Puppe'. Say hello Puppe!"

The creature's version of 'hello', much to Shinji's dismay' was the charge forward with impressive speeds and attempt to bash his skull in.

 _***RitL***_

Rose was currently cursing his luck. He had been en route back to his Division HQ just as the attack had begun and now was busy trying to navigate through the chaos of the aftermath. Thankfully it didn't appear that they had been hit by any of the explosions yet, but it could be only a matter of time.

Turning onto a street the man halted, his eyes widening in shock as he beheld what lay before him. Dozens of Shinigami lay dead on the ground, ripped to pieces. And in the middle sat a blonde haired man, facing away from him.

A blonde he recognized as his own Lieutenant.

"Izuru, what happened here? Who attacked us? Where are they now?"

"The enemy sir... they got the drop on us and... I wasn't strong enough."

The Captain began making his way towards his officer, noting that the man's spiritual energy was practically gone at this point. How the man was still alive was beyond him.

"You are injured; we need to get you to Captain Unohana. Can you walk?"

Again the voice called out from the seated man, "I-I don't think so Captain... I just..." It almost sounded like the man was sobbing.

"It is okay, don't blame yourself you couldn't..." Just as the Visored reached his target, and crouched down to look at his face he froze in shock.

His lieutenant was completely covered in blood, his eyes rolled back as if unconscious. But if that was the case then how...

A moment later the body of his friend exploded, the shock wave of which launched him backwards, cracking bones and deafening him with a earsplitting sound.

The Captain shook his head, trying to recover from the 'shell shock' that he was currently experiencing. He was disoriented, nauseous, and in quite a large amount of pain. Yet he was still aware of someone walking towards him. Someone who appeared to be talking.

"... always did enjoy that trick. Using the bodies of the enemy to lure in more? I read about you Shinigami doing so when hunting Hollows and even when you first struck against us. I wonder if you are as enraged as his majesty was when discovering the remains of your friends. Well regardless I really am glad that you weren't here at the start, it made my job just _so_ much easier."

Looking up the blonde Captain caught sight of a younger teal-green haired Quincy.

"Y-you... I am going to kill you!"

"Doubtful, my name is Xaros. Prepare yourself."

With that the man began firing arrows from a pistol he had drawn moments earlier

 _***RitL***_

"Captain Unohana we have more injured coming in, it looks like part of the fifth Division!"

The woman nodded, before gesturing towards a nearby room to be used, "have the stable placed inside while the critically injured are taken immediately into the operating rooms. How are our supplies?"

"Thankfully we stocked up in the twenty-four hours before the attack, but even still we are not in any kind of position to handle this many injuries. Not only that but it seems as though they are hitting one squad at a time, if this continues..."

"We must trust that the other Captains will put a halt to them before that happens. We are doing our job so let us trust them to do theirs."

"Of course Capt..."

Both women turned and stared at the intruder to their division, a young man dressed all in white with a grin on his face.

"So looks like I found your medical division eh? That must mean you are the infamous 'Captain Unohana'."

"I am, and you must be one of the invaders responsible for the current chaos. I must insist that you leave this place, these soldiers are no threat to you and..."

His laughter echoed cruelly throughout the building.

"NO THREAT!? That is hilarious coming from you _Yachiru Unohana._ How many innocent people did you cut down in the attack on our city? How many were 'not a threat to you'? How many infants did you butcher in their cribs? Did you know that in our society we call you 'Blutige Schlachter', which means 'Bloody Butcher'? I was told horror stories about you when I was a child, that if I stayed out late or got lost that you would find and drink my blood. You are a monster where I come from."

For her part Unohana winced just slightly, before continuing her cold gaze towards the intruder. "Regardless of my past it is the present that matters now. If you wish to fight me then leave the others alone."

"Fight you? Oh no I wish to torture and rip you to pieces, but I suppose 'fight' would be a good term for it. But fine, if you are so insistent that your soldiers' lives are more important that the Quincy you butchered so many centuries ago then we will duel away from them."

With the two in agreement they disappeared in a flash of movement, leaving Isane to take command of the Division.

 _***RitL***_

Thus far the fight had not been going very well for the 'buck toothed' Shinigami. 'Puppe' had proven to be incredibly resistant to damage, both from _Kido_ and any blade strikes.

What was worse was the fact that the creature did not seem to breathe… meaning that his _Zanpakuto_ 's special ability was worthless against it.

Although it had created a rather interesting situation with the Quincy herself becoming quite light headed and spinning around in circles for a few minutes.

Shinji had even tried to attack the girl herself a few times, hoping to knock her out or do enough damage to cancel the technique. Unfortunately, the creature was not as 'linked' to her as he had assumed, and thus it was not affected by her own confusion or lack of speed.

For all his efforts the only 'rewards' he had received thus far were a handful of fractured bones, and a couple broken ribs. That and the fact he was now mostly covered in bruises.

Something had to change, and quickly or else…

"Captain Hirako!"

Hinamori, for a second the blonde man cursed. With her here he would be forced to protect her _along with_ dueling the invulnerable monster before him.

That is until he realized exactly what this situation could mean, "Lieutenant get over here, I need your help."

Taking advantage of the brief lapse in combat, the girl promptly flashed over to the man's side, happy that she could be of use in the defense of her home. "Yes sir?"

"Listen, we need to take out the girl over there, she is what created the thing currently fighting us. I can probably hold it off for a bit longer but the sooner we can _at least_ knock her out the better."

The girl seemed to hesitate for a second, unsure if she would be capable of hurting the innocent child or not, before steeling her resolve and nodding fiercely. "I understand, then we provide help for the others?"

"Exactly"

Shinji charged forth, drawing the attention of the massive creature as his lieutenant flanked around the side, and began firing _Kido_ spells towards the Quincy.

Reacting on instinct Irmine began returning fire, and dodging the onslaught. This, in turn, brought the creature to a halt, and gave Shinji the advantage for the first time since the battle had begun. The Golem was caught between fighting the blonde haired, and obviously stronger, man and protecting its charge.

After a rather close call, and receiving a few burn marks in the process the younger blonde called out to her protector, who moved back to defend her.

"You two aren't playing very nice, that means we have to play a bit rougher too. Ready Puppe? _Vollstandig: Holy Union of God"_

The two Shinigami watched on in shock as the large bulky creature seemed to fuse into the tiny girl, morphing her skin into what appeared to be plate-like armor and allowing two bronze metallic wings to sprout from her back.

"Now we can play!" the voice called out, though it was the Quincy's it was also distinctly... changed, as if there was an underlying grittiness and robotic sound mixed in.

 _***RitL***_

"Looks like Orlan has stepped up his game"

The other Quincy nodded, noting the tide of Quincy soldiers that now poured from a nearby gateway. When she had first been told of his power Rille wasn't all that impressed by the power wielded by **The Key Maker**. Now though, now it was very clear how devastating his ability was. To be able to move at will to any location he desired was quite terrifying. Even stronger was his _Vollstandig_. _The Path of God_ allowed the boy to create portals between two locations, effectively allowing others to gain the same benefits that he had. It was truly a spectacular advantage when the grand scheme of things came into play.

"Though I must say, I wouldn't want to trade. His power his useful and all, hell there is no doubt in his rank as one of the 'War Enders' but I wouldn't trade mine for his any day of the week."

"I agree, though I much prefer mine to yours."

Bambietta gave her ally a slight shrug, before sending forth another wave of explosive blasts to cause further damage deeper into the Seireitei.

"To each her own I suppose."

"You know we have company correct?"

The black haired woman nodded, before focusing her attention on the small group of lieutenant class Shinigami hiding nearby.

 _***RitL***_

"Are you going to introduce yourself Quincy?"

"Should I? I can't imagine you actually trying to remember me after all the blood that has stained your past. But I guess I should at least _try_ to be polite. My name is Lutz, I have been gifted the letter 'R' for **The Restraint**."

"Interesting, well then we should proceed. I have injured waiting on me and I am sure that you wish to attempt to aid your companions in their senseless vengeance."

"Coming from you I will take that as a compliment... bitch."

The man immediately leapt back, dodging the incredibly fast sword slash from his opponent and firing a hail of arrows in retaliation.

Using her sword to parry the projectiles Unohana immediately went on the offensive again. They had chosen a deserted street to have their battle in, which meant that she had far less room to maneuver, but it also put him against a wall far faster than if it was an open field. The terrain favored her greatly and she knew it.

Sprinting forward the woman's hair unraveled, revealing her scar and allowing her to show her 'true nature' once more, the killer that she so brilliantly kept concealed.

'Strange, I am moving a bit slower than normal' the Shinigami mused, as she cut a deep gash into the wall where her opponent had been a second before. 'It is almost as if...'

"So this is your power? I must say it is a bit anticlimactic for one of Yhwach's 'elite guard'."

"Figured it out already eh? I don't know about 'anticlimactic'. Personally I rather enjoy my power. The ability to slow down and weaken my opponent's movements and attacks is quite awesome."

"It feels as though I am cutting and running through water rather than air. Although it is certainly annoying it is far from being detrimental to my combat abilities. Allow me to show you the error in your logic."

With that the Sternritter found himself frozen in place by several beams of light impacting his waist.

"You see? We can restrain you far more effectively than you can restrain us, it is only a matter of..."

Once more she was interrupted by a deep unsettling laughter. "About time you started using your magic, witch. Now let me show you what _restraint_ truly means... _Vollstandig: Temperance before God_."

The white light that encapsulated the man faded moments later, revealing that he was freed from her spell, and now sported a halo and a pair of wings made of pure energy.

"Interesting, so you believe that this transformation will save you? I assure you that it is _not_ the case."

The Shinigami pointed at her opponent once more, preparing a far higher level of binding spell to paralyze the man and allow to to claim victory. A moment later her eyes widened in shock as nothing happened.

"Oh my, you seem to misunderstand what _exactly_ has just occurred. I have _restrained_ your _Kido_. But not just the binding spell that you used on me... I have restrained _all of it_. Now how about we try this little battle of ours again..."

 _***RitL***_

'Why the hell didn't we plan this better? We knew they were coming, hell they told us themselves. The old man _should_ have instructed us to pair off and stay in groups rather than just staying with our Divisions until the enemy showed themselves'

Shinji dodged another barrage of arrows as he cursed their leader. The Captain General _knew_ that he worked best in team situations, so why weren't the orders changed? The Visored was beginning to regret retaking his post as he attempted to think of a way past the girl's improved defenses.

After her fusion she proved to be incredibly resilient to any forms of attack, to the point of shrugging off most of Hinamori's _Kido_ like it was merely inconvenient.

His own probably _could_ deal damage... if he had time to concentrate and go through the full incantation. But with her increased speed that was proving to be impossible.

If the battle continued like this he would be forced to using his trump card early, something he wanted desperately to save until a larger battle where it would prove far more decisive. But if he died before then it wouldn't matter much anyway.

Leaping backwards he nodded towards Momo once more before making a single hand sign to explain his plan.

Nodding the girl halted and stared down at the ground in preparations.

" _Bankai_ "

Suddenly their opponent halted, eyes widened in shock as she looked around, first in confusion... and then in fear.

"Terrifying isn't it? I guess despite all that you were told they seemed to have missed some information about us. _'Kan Hoka_ *' is a very simple ability... and yet can completely turn the tide of combat as you have just realized. My _Shikai_ allows me to reverse your senses. my _Bankai_ allows me to exchange your senses with another person's... such as my lieutenant. Everything you see, hear, taste, sense, and smell all come from her perspective now. As you can imagine if this were used in a massive battle... well the results would be an utter decimation of enemy forces, confusion on a scale you cannot imagine. A pity that it has to be revealed to you so early on."

With that the man summoned forth his Hollow mask, and began charging a massive Cero. Meanwhile the Quincy attempted to figure out a way to fight back, but just as the man had said it seemed impossible. She could only see the patch of ground in front of the other girl, her sense of hearing was completely off and threw her into even more confusion and her spiritual awareness made it feel that she was in a completely separate spot.

Then the pain came, as the blast impacted her, blowing the parts of the _Vollstandig_ directly off of her body, due to the Hollow influences it had an even greater effect than normal _Kido_ would have.

With a sigh the man released his technique, watching as his ally stumbled around in vertigo for a few moments. That was truly one of the problems, when swapped it influenced both parties, making it useless in single combat.

Unfortunately, he had a task to complete... one that made him regret his resumed rank more than anything else. This girl had seen his power, and now knew _exactly_ what it was capable of... she couldn't be allowed to give this information to anyone else.

Slowly the Captain advanced upon her prone form, watching as she struggled to stand despite her injuries and the tears in her eyes. 'She is far too young to be in this kind of situation.' the blonde man noted with a sad smile.

Finally, he stopped right in front of her, looking down with a mixture of pity and resolve.

"P-please d-don't"

"Sorry kid, but your boss knew what would happen when he declared this war."

"P-please... Puppe please help me..."

Yet the creature would not respond, having been too damaged to do so already, along with her lacking the energy to summon her first friend. Yhwach had given her a gift, the ability to bring forth her first 'imaginary' friend into existence. It had been the only 'friend' she had while growing up alone... and now he was gone.

Momo looked away as her superior officer brought down his sword, impaling the girl as she cried out in pain, before passing away moments later.

 _***RitL***_

Struggling to catch his breath among the wreckage and ruins of his former barracks the blonde haired Captain took stock of his current situation.

Most of his Division was dead, his lieutenant was dead, Soul Society was under siege, there didn't appear to be any reinforcements available to help, and he was _just now_ beginning to recover from his vertigo and hearing loss.

That and the dozen or so broken bones which were becoming a serious pain at this point. His enemy seemed to not only be a skilled marksman with his arrows, but also in aiming his...

The Shinigami leapt backwards, watching as the wall he had been resting on exploded a split second later due to the shock waves the man seemed to be able to produce. If Rose had to make an educated guess he would say the man was either using some form of telekinesis, or manipulating sound.

Considering that he seemed to be _specifically_ targeting the third Division, he was putting money on the latter of the two options.

Two more of the spheres rolled into the room, which exploded a moment later.

It had only been his split second activating of his Hollow mask that had saved the man from further damage of his opponent's 'Überschallknall', small devices that exploded violently when triggered by an unknown source. These were undoubtedly the same weapons that the Quincy had booby trapped his former lieutenant with.

The sound of more rolling sphere from behind sent the former outcast leaping into a nearby room, having discovered the the walls seemed to give him a protective edge by absorbing part of the blasts.

As he glanced back Rose's eyes widened when he saw... nothing. There hadn't been anything behind him at all which meant...

Just as he landed a shock wave tore into him, breaking his left arm and tossing him through a nearby wall from the force. "I truly do enjoy this 'cat and mouse' game we are playing. It has been a very long time since I have enjoyed 'hunting' someone."

The Quincy once again launched a barrage of arrows, forcing his opponent onto the defensive by using his _Shikai_ to parry them.

It had been a rather painful lesson when the blonde had attempted to block them with just his sealed sword, finding them to be too numerous and fast to do with such a short range.

"Y-you are... g-going to pay... monster."

"Funny coming from you. Wasn't it the Shinigami who took such excitement from slaughtering children when you attacked us without warning? At least we gave you _some_ courtesy before utterly exterminating you."

"You... haven't won... yet..."

"True, but it is only a matter of time after all. So what do you say we get back to our game and..."

" _CERO_ "

The Quincy scowled, before flashing to the side of the power blast, just barely avoiding it.

Unfortunately, once there he was hit with a wave of blue fire, a _Kido_ no doubt, which gave him his first serious injuries of the fight thus far.

With an annoyed frown the man countered with a series of shock waves, putting the Shinigami onto the defensive once again.

"You know I am surprised you aren't more anxious to finish me off, I can imagine that quite a few of your former friends could use your help right about now."

Rose, who was currently gasping for breath in an attempt to recover, widened his eyes in realization. The man, as despicable as he might be, was right. He _had_ to finish this fight now... but it was a risk to use his _Bankai_ against such a person. Regardless he would have to chance it.

" _Bankai_ "

Hopefully if he activated the ability with enough haste and secrecy the enemy wouldn't be aware that he was under its influence until...

Something was wrong, terribly awfully wrong. There was a pulling sensation on his soul, as if something was being _torn_ away from him. As if he was losing a piece of himself.

Glancing down the hall the Captain's eyes widened in horror as he saw his own ultimate weapon, taking shape behind his opponent, as if it obeyed him instead. In the Quincy's hands was a strange medallion-like device.

"About time, I was wondering how long I would have to pull my punches until you used this. But now that you have well... I think it is only fitting that you die from your own power..."

With an arrogant grin the Quincy sent forth waves of fire and water, despite the fact that the blonde knew they were not real he would not survive the onslaught.

The last words he would ever hear would be a cocky "Goodbye".

 _***RitL***_

It was rather embarrassing to be so injured by just a normal member of the 'Sternritter'. Unohana had always put pride in her medical and swordsmanship abilities, and to have herself be reduced to such a state was… well pitiful.

Currently she was propped up against a wall, bleeding quite heavily while her opponent 'allowed' her to take a short rest.

She had no _Kido_ , both of her arms were 'restrained', meaning that she could not move either one. And everything below her knee on the left leg was bound as well.

All in all, she was virtually unable to make any sort of offensive actions, and her defensive options were quickly running out as well. The only thing that kept her standing was the fact that if she lost then Isane might be targeted next. If the Quincy was able to beat her then the lieutenant wouldn't stand a chance.

There was only one more option that she could think of at the moment, a risky one but necessary none the less.

Putting her good leg up against the wall she pushed off, shooting forward with whatever speed she could muster. The surprise worked, her adversary's eyes widened in shock as he tried to draw his bow in time to attack.

At the last possible moment, the woman crouched down, pulling out one of the daggers that she kept hidden in her uniform using only her teeth and quickly spun around. The added momentum aided in slashing through the man's throat, earning her that glorious sound of blood mixing with speech.

He fell a moment later, hands clutching at his neck to try and stem the tide of the precious fluid. But it wouldn't matter. Centuries of medical experience, along with the knowledge she had gained as a killer, already told Unohana of the outcome. He would be dead in moments.

 _***RitL***_

"Remind me what your _brilliant_ plan is again Renji?"

The red haired man let out a sigh, before turning to the other gathered officers, "like I said, I will charge in with Ikkaku and Iba meanwhile Rukia, Yumichika, and Hisagi will flank around to attack them from behind."

"And why are we doing all this sneaking around? We should charge them like real men and…"

"Would you keep your damn voice down Ikkaku. This whole 'planning near the enemy' thing is already dangerous enough without you shouting every five seconds."

"HEY! I do not shout every…"

Moments later the six officers were forced to flee as the building exploded violently.

Landing a dozen feet away the Shinigami spotted the cause, the two female Sternritter glaring at them with annoyance.

"I can't believe any of you are considered 'lieutenants'. Your stealth ability is a joke."

"Listen you black haired bitch, no one asked…"

"Excuse me?"

Renji wisely shut his mouth, as he slowly turned towards his enraged teammate. "I don't care if they _are_ attacking us Renji. There is no excuse for that kind of language."

"Uh yeah of course sure… hehe my bad."

"Don't be too upset with him Rukia Kuchki, you two won't be alive much longer anyway. Although our targets are the Captains we were also told to eliminate anyone who might be able to pose a threat in the future as well. This includes all six of you." Bambietta replied, while drawing her bow.

"Let's see you try it, 'Dance, _Sode no Shirayuki_."

 _***RitL***_

"Captain are you okay? Do you need to rest?"

Shinji had paused for a moment, while leaning a bit on his lieutenant, "Yeah I think I do. Tell you what why don't you go on ahead and rendezvous with the others. I am just going to catch my breath here for a minute or two."

"What? Of course not sir! I can't leave you alone."

"Nah don't worry about it. Like I said I will be along shortly. Besides we need to communicate our findings thus far to keep the others informed."

Momo looked a bit hestitant once more, before nodding and gently setting the man down before taking off, calling back that she would be back with medical assistance as soon as possible.

The blonde chuckled to himself. She really was a bit too nice for her own good.

"I appreciate you waiting until she left, but you can come out now."

Moments later two figures, clothed all in white, emerged. One glared down at the man with a hatred in her eyes, while the other held a small corpse in her arms. The corpse of the child Shinji had previously killed.

"So was this all about revenge? Hunting me down, the invasion, waiting all these centuries?"

"The invasion is about justice for what sins your people committed in the past, and to preserve the future. This however…" the woman gestured between the seated man and herself. "Is personal. You didn't need to kill her but you did anyway, yet another innocent slaughtered by you self-righteous bastards."

"Don't come to battle expecting to leave alive, don't bring your friends if you want them to live. These are the principals of war. If you were so concerned about your friend you should have left her behind."

"And I am sure that if we impaled that little blonde girl that always followed you around you would be saying the same thing correct? I am sure you did not take her injury against Ichimaru personally or anything."

Shinji bit back a response. They were right and he knew it. "Well if you are going to kill me might I at least know the name of my executioner?"

"The one carrying the remains of my friend is called Joli, and my name is Keifer. I am also known as **The Primal**."

Nodding in acceptance, and slowly rising to his feet the blonde Captain raised his sword once more.

"Well then, let us get this over with shall we?"

" _Vollstandig: Creation of God_ "

A second later the Shinigami found himself pinned to the wall behind him by a pair of large claws, before powerful jaws tore into his chest.

 _***RitL***_

Battles raged across the Seireitei. Shinigami were being killed by the hundreds. Captains of every Division were being engaged and fighting for their lives.

And yet what was he doing? Sure he had been given orders by his commander, 'Stay and guard the barracks' but there must be something more he could do… he wielded Bankai and was close to Captain level himself. Surely he could aid the defense of his homeland?

Muttering to himself Chojiro Sasakibe continued his pacing. He had been left out of the last conflict, and now was once more being ordered to 'stand guard'.

It was an important role no doubt but still… why was he a seated officer if all he did was stand around and watch?

"What the hell do we have here? I came looking for some old man to test my flames against and I just find some stuck up looking prick?"

Spinning around, sword already drawn, the lieutenant of the first Division found his chance to prove himself, a red haired mohawked Quincy.

"My name is Chojiro Sasakibe, lieutenant of the first Division and apprentice to the Captain Commander himself."

"Oh? The name is Bazz-B they call me **The Heat**. I'm looking for a good fight, you interested?"

For the first time in his memory the Shinigami grinned in excitement, finally he would show the others just how strong he was. Finally, he would make his commander proud.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

" _AH WELL MET GOOD SIR! MY NAME IS MASK, I HAVE BEEN SENT HERE BY HIS MAJESTY TO ASCERTAIN THE STATUS OF YOUR DIVISION FOLLOWING MY COMPANION'S UNFORTUNATE DEMISE!"_

" _So you have come to finish the job eh?"_

 _The man's happy go lucky grin faded, and was replaced by a rather terrifying one instead. "That's the idea"_

 _***Omake: A Different Kind of Punishment***_

Aizen sat in the darkness of Muken, staring off into space as was his usual Friday evening, then again it was most of his usual evenings considering he had _nothing else_ to do.

It was quiet, almost too quiet even for the empty shadows that were a constant reminder of his defeat. The former Arrancar leader was just about to go over where his strategy went wrong when he heard a very… _distinct_ sound.

A sound that echoed throughout the area, one that sent a mixture of annoyance and fear down his spine.

An incredibly loud slurp, like someone drinking from an over sized sports hat with straws.

"Ahhhh that sure does hit the spot right Aizen-Chan?"

"Gin…" if the growl was any indication the former Captain was _not_ happy to have the silver haired man's company.

"That's me, so what are you up to Aizen-Kun? I see you and Chair-Sama are getting along nicely still."

The 'transcended being' chose to ignore this jab, and continue staring off into the darkness, imagining all the ways he _could_ have killed his former lieutenant.

Then he heard another odd noise, almost like… "Gin, where did you get that Lay-Z-Boy recliner?"

"Oh this? It is considered part of my 'punishment'. I have to stay down here with you. The only difference is I chose a far more comfortable chair than you did."

"You do not get to choose your imprisonment Gin."

"That's strange… then where did I get this chair… oh well! Let's see what the score is eh Aizen-Kuchan?"

The pressing of a button a moment later brought forth the sound of a man shouting, and if Aizen's genius told him anything it was most likely that the man was a sports announcer.

"WELCOME BACK SPORTS FANS TO THE SEMI-ANNUAL GIN-BOWL!"

"Gin… why is there a sporting event named after you?"

"Why not?"

Aizen paused, not trusting himself to reply at this point. The far more irritating thing about the entire situation was that the other Shinigami had a perfect view of the television, whereas the immortal could only hear, and not see, what was going on.

It was far more maddening than even the ever present solitude of this place.

"DID YOU SEE THAT!? Oh man Aizen-Chun you sure are missing a great game, too bad the power cord is half an inch too short or I would move the screen so you could watch too. I bet my nachos are almost done as well! I don't know how the Gotei 13 can consider this torture do you? Fresh beer, nachos with cheese, pizza, strippers, a 70 inch wide-screen plasma television, _and_ my own personal chair? Life is good eh Aizen-buddy?"

The man, not for the first time, cursed every God and Goddess in existence for his luck.

***A/N***

 **All credit for Xaros goes to "Antex-The Legendary Zoroark"**

*Translation **-** The Other's view

Okay so here's the thing I found about Bleach Japanese translations... they are bizarre. They aren't just direct translations like we might see with the Germanic or Spanish, instead they are translations of the Kanji... which makes it a huge pain in the ass to actually figure it out for us dumb ass Americans. That being said most of the "Shinigami" terms that I create will be just my rough attempt to do so. If anyone _does_ know of a website to easily do this, please let me know and I will mention you in the story credits :)

As one reader has requested, and that I already planned on doing, all Captains, except one, will be receiving a Bankai before the end. The only one who _won't_ be is Kenpachi... because I feel it is absolutely ridiculous that he just magically acquired it only days after unlocking his _Shikai_... I mean even Ichigo didn't do that and he basically cheated to get his.

As for the "Enders", I know some might disagree with giving the glorified teleporter the rank but to me these aren't just "really powerful people" like they are in Bleach. To me they represent those who will have a dramatic impact on the war in some way or another. Whether that means they are an incredibly powerful warrior, such as Zaraki, or someone who can move armies to any location they desire, such as Orlan.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Ichigo (presumed)

Jugo (presumed)

Genryusai Yamamoto

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orlan

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A

B

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God - _deceased_ -

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God

L **The Legion** Rille

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N **The Noise** Xaros

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W

X

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God

Z

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Komamura

Rose

Izuru

Shinji


	15. Blood Invasion Pt 3

**Raised in the Light**

Blood Invasion Pt. 3

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

Mayuri Kurotsuchi growled in annoyance as he read over the information being recorded throughout Soul Society. It was truly one of his greatest ideas, to put sensors throughout the area to record any type of combat data. After the invasion, he would be able to spend weeks going through it all!

Unfortunately, he was rather… frustrated at the moment. Thus far most of their opponents had been killed, or done very little in terms of battle for analysis. If he didn't get a longer battle in play it would hamper his ability to 'show up' his previous 'mentor' in the future. Just imagining Urahara's shocked face when he completely neutralized an enemy's powers was worth its weight in gold.

"I do have information on the one who controls sound, so I suppose that…"

"Hmmm indeed, but what if you do not end up encountering him?"

The painted face man paused, going over this new comment with curiosity, "I suppose that would be quite irritating."

"Indeed, imagine how embarrassing it would be to waste so much valuable time and resources only to have it go to waste."

This replaced the annoyed frown on the Captain's face with an even deeper one, "yes you are quite right, I should begin plans to…" The Shinigami froze. The voice behind him was _not_ someone he recognized.

Leaping away with a flurry of _Shunpo_ Mayuri took stock of the man standing before him. He was large, incredibly so, and looked to be completely made of muscle. He wore a white outfit, signifying he was a Quincy, and had no visible weapons. Oddest of all though was the strange mask that covered his head.

"AH WELL MET GOOD SIR! MY NAME IS MASK, I HAVE BEEN SENT HERE BY HIS MAJESTY TO ASCERTAIN THE STATUS OF YOUR DIVISION FOLLOWING MY COMPANION'S UNFORTUNATE DEMISE!"

"So you have come to finish the job eh?"

The man's happy go lucky grin faded, and was replaced by a rather terrifying one instead, "That's the idea."

 _***RitL***_

"Ah so my senses were correct, it appears that there _is_ in fact an enemy officer so far away from the conflict."

The girl, known as Erna, froze. She wasn't supposed to be in combat, and had only been brought along to provide support with her ability. Bazz-B had been ordered to stay with her but had waved her concerns off to go and find 'an interesting fight'.

Now she was all alone, facing one of the most formidable Captains.

"B-Bykakuya K-Kuchiki"

"Correct, and you are?"

"M-my name is Erna, I am 'W' for **The Whisper**."

"I see, an interesting fact that I shall have to report after killing you. Hopefully Rukia does not hold your death against me too much. You are invading our homeland after all."

With that the man flashed, appearing behind the girl in a moment later and stabbing her through the torso. It was _only_ because of her research into the various Captains that she could avoid her _Soul Chain_ being destroyed by the attack.

"Impressive, not many have been able to see that technique, much less counter it. I am curious though as to why you are here alone if you are not a primary combatant."

"S-Support" the girl managed to gasp out, trying to stop her blood from pooling beneath her with _Blut_.

"Ah, it is a shame that they did not support you as well then."

Erna tried desperately to reach out with her power, calling to any nearby Sternritter to try and bring aid. Her power was one of the few that his majesty created for a very specific reason. She could create, and maintain, verbal links through dozens of people over a very large area. This meant she was the sole source of communication between the various Quincy.

If she were killed then they would lose a very important advantage, one that was currently allowing them to deal massive destruction to the Seireitei.

Trying for a sneak attack the Quincy produced her bow and fired a volley at the nobleman, which he easily dodged.

" _Rikujokoro_ "

Six beams of light promptly struck the girl, freezing her in place.

"Now you are even less of a threat than you were before. Relax it shall all be over shortly."

"You are right about that, _Vollstandig: The Voice of God"_

 _***RitL***_

"Damnit..."

"How are you holding up Renji?"

The red haired man grimaced as he applied some of the healing salve to his leg. It had been a rather close call from the Quincy who had bombarded the area with explosives but luckily the lieutenant had only received minor burns rather than losing a limb.

The worst part thus far was the fact that they had yet to deal any significant damage to their opponents. Glancing over at Ikkaku Renji noted he was in about the same state as the others. Minor burns, a few slash wounds and a handful of punctures across his body from projectiles.

Glancing out from the room they had taken shelter in Renji made a slight signal to the other four officers that had taken shelter in a building across from them. They needed a decisive action to remove one of the two women and get rid of their teamwork.

Thankfully it appeared that Hisagi had a plan, and Renji nodded in understanding before whispering to the bald man next to him.

 _***RitL***_

The two scientists stood apart from each other, each waiting for their opponent to make the first move. Then the Quincy's face broke into a large grin, thus reminding the clown faced Captain of his former mentor and further annoying him.

"Enough of these games. Your comrade was of no use to me but perhaps you can be instead. I have spent years studying your kind and..."

"Yes yes I am well aware of your research into both the groups from the World of the Living and the Quincy named Uryu Ishida. Rest assured that your research will most likely be useless in this current situation though."

"We shall see about that." The Shinigami proceeded to gesture towards the man while calling out an incantation, firing a binding spell at him in order to quickly obtain a sample to study for the future.

The man easily dodged aside, laughing loudly as he did so, "I will never understand the logic of you Shinigami. You do such long winded attacks and combinations. So many of your techniques revolve around the idea of your adversary standing by and letting you finish, such folly."

Growling in annoyance, Kurotsuchi proceeded to lash out with silent _Kido_ , again forcing the enemy onto the defensive to dodge the barrage of projectiles.

"Surely you can do better than that Quincy? You have not even _attempted_ to attack me. How am I supposed to get decent information concerning your kind if you do not even..."

A moment later the larger man vanished, appearing behind the other and launching him across the room and into a wall with a vicious kick to the back.

"YOU MAKE A GOOD POINT GOOD SIR! I HAVE DRAWN FIRST CONTACT AND NOW CHALLENGE YOU TO EXCEED ME!"

Once again the Captain growled in annoyance, while his lieutenant flashed to his side and began prying him out of the rubble.

 _***RitL***_

"So what do you think they will try next?"

Rille shrugged, the Shinigami had already tried a direct assault, only to get bogged down by the endless hordes of her ability.

Then they had attempted a ranged attack, but their _Kido_ was either interrupted and countered by Bambietta, or blocked by the faceless soldiers that surrounded them.

Any attempts by the officers to flank the two Quincy had proven futile, as it appeared that none were proficient enough in _Shunpo_ to catch them by surprise.

Their latest strategy had been, by far, the worst. A 'complex' attempt at teamwork had resulted in injuries for all six due to poor coordination and timing.

It appeared as though the Shinigami were not used to working together during combat to the extent that the Sternritter were.

The silence that had enveloped the clearing was broken when a pair of strange bands were thrown out by the black-haired lieutenant. Despite the two Sternritter easily dodging the explosions that occurred next the true purpose was soon realized as the area was covered by a dense smoke.

'Clever, they can't get to us directly thus they are attempting to remove any sort of ability we might have to see them coming, unfortunately it does provide another interesting opportunity...' **The Legion** thought with a smirk, as she discreetly activated her _Vollstandig_.

 _***RitL***_

It seemed as though 'growling' was the only thing that Mayuri had been doing lately. He watched the muscle-bound man, once again, toss his 'daughter' through a wall before calling out in a gleeful laugh.

"ANOTHER POINT TO ME FAIR MAIDEN, BUT YOUR FAULT LIES NOT IN YOUR TECHNIQUE. FEAR NOT, IF YOU CONTINUE TO PERSERVERE THEN YOU TOO SHALL REACH HEIGHTS THAT YOU NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE!"

The girl nodded, almost as if she were being tutored by the man rather than attempting to duel him.

"Bah enough of this! I did not wish to utilize this so early on but it appears I have no other choice, Nemu release the secret weapon!"

Said black haired girl hesitated for a moment, before nodding and dashed to a nearby council, eliciting a curious gaze from the Quincy.

Moments later a large hole opened in the floor, allowing for a structure to raise out and further open. Inside of this new vault-like chamber were three beings attached to dozens of tubes and wires. A second later their eyes flashed open.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?"

"Now now language" the Shinigami admonished, before delivering a painful jolt of electricity to the three Arrancar.

"QUITE INTERESTING! YOU SEEMED TO HAVE TAKEN THREE OF YOUR FORMER ENEMIES FOR EXAMINATION AS WELL, I WONDER WHAT TECHNOLOGY YOU HAVE STOLEN FROM THEM."

"I do not _steal_ technology. I make advancements based on..."

"BASED ON THEIR ABILITIES AND BIOLOGY I AM FULLY AWARE! YET THIS IS NOT THE WAY THAT SCIENCE IS MEANT TO BE DONE MY GOOD FRIEND! TRUE SCIENCE IS THE ART OF CREATION FROM NOTHING, TO MAKE SOMETHING NEW THAT HAS NEVER EXISTED BEFORE... THIS IS CREATION AT ITS GREATEST!"

"Bah, it doesn't matter what a dead man thinks. Now then my three Arrancar, kill this man and I shall allow you a reprieve from experimentation for the next week."

The three glanced towards each other, a bit confused as what course of action to take before steeling their resolve and taking up combat stances against the masked man.

"OH HO! THREE NEW OPPONENTS ENTER THE RING! WHAT SHALL OUR HERO DO NOW!?"

"Die in a most painful and humiliating way would be preferable you overgrown oaf. How you ever became known as a 'scientist' is a mystery even I shall never solve."

"HOW INCREDIBLY CRUEL MAYURI-SAN! BUT I SHALL ACT THE NOBLE ROLE ONCE MORE. MY GOOD ARRANCAR, IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO ENGAGE ME I SHALL FREE YOU FROM THIS TERRIBLE FATE AND ALLOW YOU TO RETURN TO YOUR HOMEWORLD. BUT IF YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THIS MAN... the consequences will be most _dire_."

The last portion was said in a very deep and sadistic voice, earning shivers from the three warriors. Yet still there was no reason they had to trust this man thus they were forced to follow orders otherwise the pain would continue.

All three charged forward, forcing the man to leap backwards, and pull out a strange flashlight looking device.

As he turned it on, and pointed it at the three they froze for a moment in confusion, before shrugging and charging once more.

"Fool! I do not know what that pathetic device was meant to do but as I have said before your technolo..." The Captain's rant was interrupted as the three Arrancar exploded, forming massive blue fireballs which tore through the room and shook the SRDI with the force.

 _***RitL***_

Byakuya gazed upon the transformed state of his opponent, who now bore wings made of pure energy and a Halo to match. Unfortunately, it appeared that the girl had made a horrendous mistake.

She was still under the influence of the binding _Kido_.

"I do not know what your enhanced state might entail but I am fairly confident that it…" before he could finish his statement the Captain took a step back as horrific pain shot through his mind. It was as if there were two Kenpachi's currently in his head… shouting at each other hysterically.

Moments later he felt an arrow pierce into his shoulder, before he could make a sloppy retreat via _Shunpo_.

Glancing upwards, and trying to ignore the pain, he saw that his _Kido_ had indeed dispersed after his concentration was destroyed. "H-how are you…" Before he could finish more pain roared into his mind, blinding him to anything else.

It was bad enough that he _barely_ felt the half dozen projectiles pierce his left arm and torso. Thankfully they weren't deep, it appeared that his adversary lacked the raw power that might have made the situation deadly.

"I don't like using this you know, I never wanted _this_ part of my powers. I enjoy the other part, being connected with so many people, having so many friends… unfortunately I can't die yet. Too many depend on me. My 'released state' as you call it allows me to mentally influence someone even without their consent. Essentially I can mentally attack you at will."

Byakuya cursed, he had been careless. An unknown enemy was currently assaulting them and he was too busy ridiculing a lone officer and showing off his 'superiority' that it was costing him dearly. Even worse was the idea that momentarily popped into his mind. If he could not continue fighting, or was even killed here, then Soul Society would lose even more of its fighting capability. Rukia would be in danger, his Division would be in danger, and his clan would be in danger.

He could not afford any more mistakes.

The problem was how could he strike back? His mind was in far too much chaos to come up with any halfway decent plan, _Kido_ was out of the question with the inability to concentrate, and even his _Zanpakuto_ releases were questionable at this point. The only ability he could somewhat rely on was his swordsmanship and sloppy _Shunpo_.

Undoubtedly Yoruichi would be rolling on the ground laughing at him at this point.

The Shinigami needed a plan, even if it was stupid and reckless… which meant he had to think like Kenpachi. With a quick decision, the Captain threw his sword towards the girl, who just managed to dodge the blade.

Exactly as he anticipated she would. In that single moment of confusion, undoubtedly caused by his completely bizarre action, her focus broke along with the mental torture she was inflicting.

He appeared behind her instantly, reaching out and catching the hilt of the blade just as it passed her. With a slight spin, he split the girl in two, narrowly avoiding the blood that sprayed out as a result.

He might have taken the idea from something that the barbarian would do, but there was no reason to continue acting like him.

 _***RitL***_

With a groan the current leader, and practically the only remaining member, of the research division picked himself out of a large amount of rubble that had fallen on him.

His lab was in ruins, the three Arrancar destroyed, and his Division nearly annihalated. The only ray of sunshine through all of this was that the explosion had...

"AH I SEE YOU HAVE FINALLY RISEN FROM YOUR BED OF ROCK AND DEBRIS MY GOOD ADVERSARY. I SUGGEST THAT YOU BEGIN AN EXERCISE PLAN IMMEDIATELY, IT SHALL HELP YOU BUILD MUSCLE AND ALLOW YOU A FASTER ESCAPE NEXT TIME!"

Mayuri felt an eye twitch of epic proportions approaching as he saw the man, with his daughter sitting nearby as if in a slight daze, sitting on a large piece of ceiling that had fallen. Ever worse was the fact that they were both somehow _unharmed_ from the explosion.

"What in the damnable hells was..."

"AH I SEE YOU HAVE A QUESTION CONCERNING MY 'ANTI ARRANCAR LIGHT'."

"Please tell me you have a better name for it..."

"OF COURSE NOT! NAMES SHOULD EXPLAIN THE FUNCTION OF THE DEVICE TO AVOID CONFUSION."

"Bah fine, call it whatever you want."

"Mask-San, may I inquire as to how the device works?" a soft, almost sweet female voice called out, drawing the man's attention to the Shinigami girl sitting next to him.

"OF COURSE NEMU-CHAN! YOU SEE AN ARRANCAR'S BLOOD IS HIGHLY VOLATILE WHEN PRESENTED WITH AN ENERGY OF A CERTAIN FREQUENCY, NAMELY THAT OF A _CERO_. IT WAS THEREFORE A SIMPLE TASK TO CREATE A DEVICE THAT PROJECTED A LOW-LEVEL FIELD OF THE SAME FREQUENCY, THUS TURNING THE CREATURES INTO LIVING BOMBS. THIS TECHNIQUE IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS WHEN AN ESPADA USES THEIR _GRAN REY CERO_ , EXCEPT FOR IT CAUSES _ALL_ OF THEIR BLOOD TO BE USED AT ONCE."

The black haired girl nodded, taking note of the impressive device that had been created. She had to admit that despite it being a creation of their enemy it was rather ingenious. Was it not proper to show respect for those who had such creative minds? Judging by the glare from her father, it was apparently not.

"Nemu! Get over here this instance!"

"Yes Mayuri-Sama"

The lieutenant instantly appeared at the man's side, before being backhanded to the ground to ease his frustrations.

Seconds later he too was backhanded, only this time by the Quincy, who had a strange fire of rage in his eyes.

"Father's should not strike their children, no matter what the situation or race. If you touch her again I shall show you _exactly_ what it means to be 'torn limb from limb'."

The Captain rose once more, his anger building as he stared at the murderous expression of his adversary before unsheathing his blade.

" _Bankai"_

 _***RitL***_

Yhwach growled in rage as he felt the communication between his various knights become silent. He had ordered anyone in the nearby vicinity to aid the girl immediately, but most were too busy with other battles to provide any.

Bazz-B had directly ignored the order, and had insisted she would be fine even without his aid, despite being ordered to stay with her at all times. Assuming the redhead survived his stupidity, there would be exceedingly harsh penalties awaiting him. Those who abandoned their comrades in the time of need were considered the lowest form of scum to Quincy.

 _***RitL***_

"I thought you said you knew where they were." Rukia hissed out to Renji as the circled around to flank the two Quincy from behind.

"I did, they should be right around here somewhere..."

" _Somewhere!?_ Renji we don't have time to spend trying to hunt them down, this needs to be timed perfectly and..."

Rukia stopped, peering into the smoke that had consumed the area as a shape slowly walked towards them. "Is that..."

The redhead's danger instincts kicked in a second later as he threw his best friend out of the path of a lunging slash.

The strangest part was that it had been a _Shinigami_ who had attempted the attack, a fourth seat if Renji remembered correctly.

"Hey what the hell man!? Watch where you... are..."

As the figure caught their balance and looked up the two Shinigami gazed in shock at the pale eyes and blank expression on their comrade.

Of course, these two details were quickly overshadowed by the large gaping hole in the man's chest.

 _***RitL***_

"AH SO THIS IS YOUR FULL POWER MR. CAPTAIN? I MUST SAY THAT DESPITE THE REPORTS I DO NOT FIND IT NEARLY AS 'CREEPY' AS I SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED."

"My _Bankai_ is not creepy... but it is effective."

With that the horrific creature spewed forth a miasma of green toxins, which quickly spread out to cover the room.

"Well now that the problem is solved I can get back to..."

"TRULY DISAPPOINTING! FOR YOU TO BELIEVE ME VANQUISHED WITH SUCH A MISERABLE ATTEMPT IS NEAR INSULTING FOR ME!"

"How are you still alive!?"

"AH THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE! I HAVE CREATED AN 'POISON REPELLENT' BARRIER AROUND MY BODY TO PROTECT ME FROM ANY SUCH ATTEMPTS!"

This time the Captain did nothing to even _attempt_ to hide his irritation with the man.

"This is beyond annoying now. Why can't you just leave and go bother someone else?"

"I SUPPOSE IT IS THE SAME REASON THAT YOUR PREDECESSORS DECIDED TO SLAUGHTER OUR PEOPLE, HATRED MY GOOD MAN."

The Shinigami paused, having not quite expected the response.

"Ah I see you need a bit of a refresher in the history between our two races. You see when the original thirteen Shinigami attacked us it was more than just a 'one sided battle' it was a massacre. They did not simply kill the warriors and those who could resist. They also butchered the elderly and the children as well. I arrived back with his majesty, our emperor, just in time to watch as one of your 'Royal Guard' threw my two children into a pool of scalding water, laughing as they cried out in pain, and struggled to ease the horrific agony that they were undergoing. To this day I wonder if it had been planned that way, so that we would arrive _just_ _in time_ to watch the monsters do such atrocities. But fear not, the time for justice is upon you and your kin. Soon you too shall know the horrors of being powerless before an enemy that has no compassion."

 _***RitL***_

"This was way lamer than I thought it would be, how the hell did you ever make lieutenant for the first Division?"

The Shinigami growled back, before pushing himself off the ground and taking up his combat stance once more, although in a noticeably slower manner. He had thought that with all his training he would be more than a match for a single enemy, but apparently, he had been wrong.

Of course, part of this was due to his own pride, he had wanted to show off his combat abilities _without_ having to rely on _Bankai_ to do so. That had been a mistake.

Now he was severely burned over large portions of his body, and bleeding heavily from the rest. The only satisfaction was the fact that his opponent had not escaped unharmed, and was sporting quite a few stab wounds himself, although nothing to the extent that the Soul Reaper was.

"It appears I have underestimated you greatly, now my nemesis, prepare to witness what only one other has ever had the ability to, _Bankai_!"

" _Burner Finger Number 4!"_

'It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would' The lieutenant mused, as the two halves of his body fell to the ground.

'Hopefully the others will be okay though…'

With that last thought the man closed his eyes for the last time.

 _***RitL***_

As Renji and Rukia circled around the other four charged in to try and create a 'hammer and anvil' effect.

What they met shook them to their cores. Dozens of recently killed Shinigami stood between them and their two adversaries, one of which now had a pair of smoky gray wings protruding from her back.

"What in the hell is going on!" Ikkaku roared out as their fallen comrades lunged forward towards them."

"Quite simple really" The voice of Rille echoed out through the battlefield, creating an eerie effect for the Soul Reaper officers. " _The Army of God_ allows me to resurrect the fallen soldiers on a battlefield to fight once more. An army that cannot be destroyed, demoralized, or intimidated. Now that the casualties across the Seireitei have escalated high enough I will be able to overrun most of your remaining strongholds and fortifications. It is only too bad that I cannot take control of anyone who had more spiritual power than myself. Otherwise I could have returned your Captains and ended this war with ease."

" _Second Dance!"_

Bambietta merely chuckled as the wall of ice swept away a host of returned soldiers and sped towards them. A barrage of explosive projectiles later and the two flanking Shinigami were once again forced onto the defensive after the attacked had been countered.

"I thought you would have learned after the first time. In a straight contest my abilities will trump yours every time."

" _BANKAI_ "

Sighing in annoyance the two Sternritter leapt out of the obvious path of the large snake construct, before Bambietta rained explosives down onto it, causing mass damage along its body.

'They really are far too easy to taunt and trick' the woman noted, before catching sight of the bald man charging towards them, and reluctantly activating his _Bankai_ as well.

Unfortunately, after the battle against the Arrancar Ikkaku's Bankai had been damaged and never repaired, thus it was broken blades that the third seat attempted to slay his opponents, without success.

Sensing danger Rille glanced backwards, just in time to watch Rukia prepare a high level _Kido_ spell in an attempt to deal damage, that is before she halted due to the faces of her comrades leaping in front of her to shield the Quincy.

"Coward" the girl spat out, enraged at the deceit and tactics used by her enemies.

"Normally I would take offense to that, but considering your kind attacked us without even a declaration of war... well I guess we are both willing to do whatever is necessary huh? It's not my fault that you are unwilling to attack their remains... or guard your flank."

Too late did the dark-haired girl realize what she meant, as two sword tore through the ground beneath her and stabbed into her legs, causing her to cry out in pain as dozens of soldiers emerged from the sewers below the fighters.

Due to the distraction Bambietta was able to launch a vicious barrage, taking both Renji and Ikkaku out of the fight, while Rille was able to capitalize on the minor injuries of the others and deal fatal blows to both Yumichika and Hisagi.

Iba, who had laid low thus far in an attempt to surprise the two, was discovered a moment later by the black haired Quincy, who proceeded to end his life with an explosive projectile to the heart, blowing a large hole in his chest.

The only one left standing of the original six, Rukia Kuchiki, glared defiantly back at the two Sternritter, who knocked her unconscious a moment later.

 _***RitL***_

"HOW DISAPPOINTING, YES HOW TRULY DISAPPOINTING INDEED, FOR YOUR ULTIMATE ATTACK TO BE DEFEATED SO EASILY. I WAS HOPING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR _ZANPAKUTO_ AND ITS DESIGN. A PITY, BUT NOW WE MUST END THIS GAME OF OURS I'M AFRAID."

Mayuri cursed, his _Bankai_ had been destroyed quite easily after the man had thrown a series of small capsules into its mouth, which promptly detonated moments later. If he didn't do something fast he would end up suffering too much damage and be forced to retreat.

Before he could come up with any more plans the Captain was forced to _Shunpo_ out of the path of a devastating axe kick, cratering the floor where he stood moments prior.

As he landed the Shinigami noticed that his enemy's smile grew even larger, almost as if...

Bright light erupted all around him, blinding him momentarily before he heard... it... a horrific sound like everything behind him being torn apart and devoured by a whirlwind.

"Wh-wha"

"OH DO NOT FRET MAYURI-SAN FOR YOU SEE YOU JUST LANDED ON MY MOST RECENT TRAP, A DEVICE THAT I HID UNDER THE FLOOR WHILE YOU WERE BUSY RECOVERING FROM THE DESTRUCTION OF YOUR ARRANCAR. THE PURPOSE OF IT IS CREATE A MONSTROUS AMOUNT OF SPIRITUAL MATTER, OF HIGH DENSITY IN ONE SPOT, THUS CREATING A GRAVITY FIELD THAT PULLS ALL THINGS INTO IT, YOUR DEMISE SHALL BE A GLORIOUS SINGULARITY!"

The Quincy's grin grew even wider, as if he was elated at the success of his creation, and knowing him he was.

"Y-you haven't won yet! I will..."

"Ah but you see I have... with the bonds being disrupted and torn apart all of your techniques will no longer function. You have no escape; the object has to be contained with a barrier or else it will expand and destroy all of creation."

Captain Kurotsuchi roared out in pain as his body began to stretch out, being torn by the forces at work. He began shouting and cursing as he attempted to drag himself out of the area but found he was unable to do so, and was being pulled further into the void.

Nemu, seeing her father's situation, charged forward to try and attempt a rescue, only to be caught and held back by the Quincy.

"Don't do it. You cannot help him at this point and any attempt to do so will just kill you as well."

"PLEASE LET ME HELP HIM! FATHER!"

The Captain, in his few remaining moments of clarity, saw the utter distress present on his daughter's face. Realizing that even in the end, she longed to protect and love him despite all he had put her through.

A small smile crossed his lips, as he called out to her one last time, before letting go and allowing himself to die.

"Goodbye my daughter."

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

" _You are Captain Ukitake correct?"_

 _The white-haired man blinked, before nodding his answer to the female._

" _Ah that's good, we were sent to kill you I'm afraid. I personally would rather not do so but... well we are mortal enemies and all so if we don't end you now you will just keep coming back to attack us later."_

" _Indeed he will Mina. My name is Adalgar by the way, a pleasure to meet you good sir. I must say that it is a rather lovely day for a battle is it not Captain-Sama?"_

 _***Omake: True power of the 'L'***_

Shunsui halted in his progress towards the nearest battle, before glancing over at the beautiful woman standing on the nearby building. Donning his most charming smile the Captain appeared before her to introduce himself.

"Why hello there beautiful, my name is Shunsui Kyoraku, Captain of the Gotei 13. And what might this vision of loveliness be called?"

The woman giggled slightly, before giving him a _very_ sultry smile. "I am Rille, and I have been looking for you Captain-Sama."

His smile broadened, it was always a good day when a woman was looking for you, especially wearing _that_ kind of smile, "Oh? Hopefully not to battle me, I would hate to have to engage such a woman in combat."

"Of course not Captain-Sama, I have heard of your... _exploits_ and wanted to meet you myself. You see the letter gifted to me is **L** for **The** **Lemon**."

Shunsui immediately fell down to his knees, his eyes tearing up in joy.

"THANK YOU OH MAGNIFICENT KAMI... AND AUTHOR!"

Again Rille giggled, with a bit of lust this time, "come closer Captain-Sama, and let me... tend to you."

Shunsui was within arms length in an instant, drooling just a tad as he eyed her curvaceous form.

"Do you like what you see Captain-Sama?"

The man had never nodded so fast in his life.

"Would you like to see more?"

Correction, _now_ he had never nodded so fast in his life.

Another lust filled smile and the woman began unzipping her top, showing more and more cleavage, and thus bringing the man's face closer and closer to her chest, until...

"What the..."

A small yellow sphere appeared on her skin, before squirting out a liquid into his eyes, a horrific burning liquid that rendered him blind. The agony was unlike anything he had ever felt before, his body shaking from the raw pain of it.

"OH GOD WHAT IN THE HELL!?"

"L for the Lemon asshole! As in lemon juice! Ever get that shit in your eyes? Burns like a bitch huh?"

The woman promptly kicked the man in the crotch... hard... silencing him with a squeak as he closed up into the 'fetal position'.

A pair of Reiatsu suppressing cuffs later and the Captain found himself in a locked room with half dozen other Captains and lieutenants, all men.

"So she got you too eh? Not really all that surprising Shunsui... you are a bit of a pervert." Shinji muttered out, annoyed that he himself had been defeated by such a stupid trick.

"Yeah... wait why are you here Hitsugaya?"

"What the hell do you mean 'why am I here'? I was defeated just like you."

"Well obviously but... well you know..."

"No I don't, how about you explain it?" the boy growled back, annoyed at everyone's shock at his capture.

"It's just that... well we all figured you were into guys. NOT THAT THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT!"

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU ASSUME THAT!?"

"Duh dude," Kensei called out, "have you _seen_ your lieutenant? She is constantly trying to smother you in her chest and you just get annoyed with her. What straight male does that?"

"THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS ANNOYING!"

"So now you can see why we were taking bets on when you came out of the closet right?"

"I hate you all..."

"Join the club..."

The others turned towards the latest speaker, and noticed Sasuke Uchiha sitting in the corner, brooding as usual. "What... I'M ALSO NOT GAY YOU ASSHOLES!"

***A/N***

The battles keep going! Originally the invasion was only going to be like 1-2 chapters… and then I remembered how many freaking characters there are in this story and so… well expect more like 5-6.

For those who believe that the Quincy aren't doing so great right now… well you're right. But to be honest I always saw Captains being stronger than Sternritter in one on one fights, it was only their information that gave them the advantage, and stealing _Bankai._ That being said there will be more Quincy victories coming up, and the losses that the Shinigami will suffer are far harder to compensate for than the Quincy losses.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Ichigo (presumed)

Jugo (presumed)

Genryusai Yamamoto

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orlan

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A

B

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God - _deceased_ -

H **The Heat** Bazz-B

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God

L **The Legion** Rille

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N **The Noise** Xaros

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God

Z

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Komamura

Rose

Izuru

Shinji

Chojiro

Mayuri

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku


	16. Blood Invasion Pt 4

**Raised in the Light**

Blood Invasion Pt. 4

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

He had to find her, to ensure her safety. She was his world, his reason for staying alive and for being a Captain in the first place. Without her he would… no he had to trust her. He knew that Shinji wouldn't allow her to come to harm and she was skilled in her own right. Momo would be fine.

In his musings Hitsugaya almost missed the signature of the Quincy that stood in his path. Coming to a halt the white-haired boy unsheathed his blade and stared back at his opponent.

The man standing before him was oddly relaxed, almost reminding him of Shunsui in some regards. But in that same manner he also had that aura of death about him, as if approaching and confronting this man could easily turn into his demise.

Steeling his resolve the youngest Captain called out to his opponent, "My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya Captain of the Gotei 13. Identify yourself!"

"How rude, you know the Arrancar were not nearly as rude to us when we invaded their world. I expected better from you."

"You attacked our home and you expect us to be cordial to you?"

The Quincy shrugged, "I suppose not, after all your kind did attack us without even a declaration of war while we gave you a full twenty-four hours' notice. How silly of me to think that we would consider being honorable about bloodshed and slaughter. Well I guess I should just kill you and get it over with eh?"

"Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, _HYORINMARU!"_

The sky darkened around them as the massive ice dragon roared into existence, its red eyes gleaming as if savoring the meal to come.

The Sternritter merely gazed back, as if bored by the sudden change. With a shout the shorter warrior sent the monster roaring forth, intending on freezing his opponent solid and ending the fight decisively.

What he _hadn't_ expected was the dragon to dissolve mere feet from the man, who had yet to even make a move.

"Wh-what!? How?"

"Ah there is that confusion I was looking for. You Shinigami really are predictable you know. Even if we hadn't studied all of your abilities I could predict your reaction. How did you ever believe that you could match Aizen Sosuke?"

Toshiro growled in annoyance, before launching several more ice dragons towards the man who had taunted him, each one dissolving away before causing any sort of damage.

"Really? Did you think that if the first one didn't reach me the rest would? How did they ever think of you as a genius?"

Hitsugaya merely smirked, "probably because those were just a diversion.

The Quincy cocked his eyebrow just before the entire area beneath him erupted into spikes made of pure ice.

"So much for being a threat, I wonder if the others are so…"

"So what? I am curious at what point you _believed_ that I was not aware of your actions."

The child's eyes widened in shock for a moment, before he calmed himself as his adversary stood, still in the same place and still unharmed.

 _***RitL***_

Shunsui hastily leapt through the Soul Society, trying to get a lock on any enemy forced not engaged, or any Shinigami who needed desperate assistance.

There were already several Captains in combat, and a few he would not be able to aid in time, but most pressing was a large group of lieutenants who were in a dire situation. As the Captain neared where Rukia, Renji, and several others were battling he dodged backwards just in time to avoid an arrow fired at his head.

"Oh my, how incredibly rude of you, for an enemy to shoot at me from behind is…" Turning around the Shinigami halted, not seeing the one who had fired the shot. "Curious..."

Again, he was forced to dodge, this time a hail of projectiles coming from his right side. Immediately he followed their path, and ended up at a wall.

"Very curious indeed… come out come out wherever you are Quincy-Sama…"

 _***RitL***_

"You are…"

Before the Quincy known as Orlan could finish his statement Sui-Feng had flashed behind him in a show of _blinding_ speed.

A moment later the younger man coughed up blood, as the poison from her _Shikai_ coursed through his veins.

He fell to the ground a second later as the venom ended his life.

"One down, now let's see where the next targe…."

"Oh my, his majesty will be most upset with me when he learns about this."

The Captain flashed a dozen feet away, before spinning around to catch sight of the man who had been standing behind her moments ago. A man who she had not even _noticed_ until he declared himself. Such a mistake would be deadly if it happened twice.

"Who are you?"

"Me? My name is Clovis; I was given the task of protecting Orlan here but… well I do tend to be a bit jittery at times. I was sure that the area was clear when I took my walk and yet… well it appears as though your title of 'Onmitsukido Commander' is well earned."

The woman's mouth twitched slightly at the praise, before she refocused on the task at hand. "It appears as though I have found my next target. I was ordered to move behind enemy lines and take out any officers that appeared to be in a support role."

"Quite an impressive strategy, fortunately now you have run into me. Now it appears that we can settle a dilemma I have discovered as of late."

"Oh and what is that?" The woman called out.

"Who is faster…" the Quincy vanished, only to appear directly in front of her less than a split second later, taking the woman by surprise. "A Quincy or a Shinigami."

 _***RitL***_

Ukitake stared at the two Quincy standing before him, one was an incredibly large man, easily over six feet tall, and looked to be built out of pure muscle.

The other was a rather dainty looking young woman.

"You are Captain Ukitake correct?"

The white-haired man blinked, before nodding his answer to the female.

"Ah that's good, we were sent to kill you I'm afraid. I personally would rather not do so but... well we are mortal enemies and all so if we don't end you now you will just keep coming back to attack us later."

"Indeed he will Mina. My name is Adalgar by the way, a pleasure to meet you good sir. I must say that it is a rather lovely day for a battle is it not Captain-Sama?"

Again, the Shinigami merely blinked, before nodding in confusion. Sure, he knew what was going on but he would have imagined that the larger man would have been far more brutish than he was. It was an error in judgment that he needed to correct, perhaps he had spent too much time around Kenpachi.

"As much as I would enjoy exchanging pleasantries good sir I am afraid we must, what is the expression, 'get this show on the road'. As we are the ones who have sought you out I shall allow you to choose who makes the first move, and of course unleash your _Zanpakuto_."

Ukitake immediately did so, and brought forth his two blades, before assuming a defensive stance. Normally he was against such a thing early on but he was far too weary about facing down two opponents at once to charge in blindly.

The larger man nodded, before charging forward, rushing his adversary with, as the Captain noted, was pure physical speed.

Leaping back from a powerful overhanded blow, which cratered the ground where the Shinigami stood moments prior, Ukitake lunged forward, delivering a slash across the man's arm. Strangely enough it was rather difficult to cut through the man's skin, thus he only succeeded in delivery a minor scratch where it should have lopped off the limb entirely.

Using _Shunpo_ the white-haired man barely dodged the retaliatory backhand, and took note that the female had yet to make any movement.

"Ah well played good sir! It seems as though you have drawn first blood, as expected of a Captain of your skills!"

Lifting a finger, and a slight muttering under his breath, launched a bolt of electricity from the Soul Reaper towards his larger adversary, only for his eyes to widen in shock as it was blocked by a barrier.

"Ah you will have to forgive me, you see in my excitement I had forgotten to do full and _proper_ introductions. I am often known as **The Juggernaut** by my peers, whereas this beautiful young woman is known as **The Shield**. Now then let us try this spar again shall we?"

 _***RitL***_

"Well looks like the lazy old bastard is finally back. Alright asshole you and me got something to settle. 'Who is the greatest flame wielder of all'?"

Yamamoto merely glanced at the redhead before turning his attention to his fallen lieutenant. Chojiro had been with him for over several hundred years, standing by his side despite all that had happened. Even when they disagreed with each other, and even fought, the man had always shown honor and respect.

He _should_ have been a Captain, an image to which the others would have aspired to be. Loyal, brave, cunning, self-sacrificing, and yet capable of independent action and thought.

Yes, he truly was an officer to admire.

The eldest Shinigami was briefly aware of the flaring of spiritual pressure near him, as the man who had taken his friend's life let forth a blast of fire.

Raising his hand the Commander batted it away like an annoying insect. Where did Yhwach find these people? Did he not instruct them to analyze their opponents and know when to flee? Did this mohawked man truly believe he was a match for the strongest Shinigami?

Apparently, he did, as a blade made of fire swept across the room, presumably to bifurcate him.

Instead the older man caught the blade with his bare hand, before crushing it instantly.

His 'opponent' was barely even Captain Class, did he think that such an attack would even injure the greatest flame user of all time?

" _VOLLSTANDIG! GOD'S HOLY FLAME!"_

'At least he had finally begun taking the fight seriously.' Despite his inner monologue the old man had yet to turn towards his opponent, instead he focused his attention on his fallen subordinate, someone who had earned his time far more than his so called 'adversary' ever had.

"Now you're dead you bastard. In this form I can control all of the flames in the surrounding area. Anything you even _try_ to throw at me I will use against you!"

'Do the Captains do this as well, announce their abilities and any sort of advantage it might give them even before the fight has begun? If so we really must have a training session on this. Such actions will get them killed. After all now that I know _exactly_ what he can do it would be child's play to use _Kido_ or just snap his neck with my bare hands, of course there is a chance he is protected somehow, perhaps I should just...'

Once again the eldest man's thoughts were interrupted, this time by a wave of fire that was sent cascading across the area.

Yamamoto vanished before it could even come close to him, taking the fallen soldier's body so that it would escape being incinerated. Appearing directly before the red haired man, who took a step back in shock, he unsealed his staff, revealing the blade inside and sliced the man in half vertically before he could retaliate further.

The two Shinigami promptly vanished a split second later.

 _***RitL***_

Thus far Captain Kyoraku had been lead through quite the chase through the surrounding area. He would dodge a volley of arrows, only to find they had come from an empty corner or even, strangely enough, a solid wall.

It was beginning to become a bit creepy for the man, but he knew that he could not move on and allow others to fall into this trap.

Finally, his instincts caught the slight spiking of spiritual energy, and he turned just in time to see the arrows… emerging from a solid wall. Using _Shunpo_ he closed the gap instantly, and sliced open the barrier, only to find nothing on the other side but an empty road.

Closing his eyes the Captain focused on his sixth sense, and began sensing everything in the area, even the most diminutive signature. It worked, and he finally found a small, nearly invisible, entity on the edge of his perception.

How in the world they had managed to not only target him, but fire through walls was beyond the man, but he was intent on figuring it out.

Leaping into action he finally caught up to his target, a rather tall and thin man with a pair of strange multi colored, multi lens glasses covering his eyes.

"Ah so you must be the one causing me so much trouble. You know it isn't much of a game if everyone doesn't know the rules."

"Ah indeed, yes yes very good yes quite good quite good indeed. Very impressive yes very impressive you found me fast, yes quite fast too fast really all too fast. You are very skilled Captain-Sama, yes too skilled to leave here, indeed far too dangerous for the others." The Quincy began quickly muttering to himself, as if trying to form a plan and have a conversation with a voice in his head at the same time.

The Shinigami didn't quite know what to make of the man, and so allowed him to finish his 'conversation' before he interrupted. "Excuse me Quincy-Sama, I am sure you understand we are in the middle of a battle here. While I would normally be more than content to let you figure out your plan I do have friends that need aid so I am afraid I will need to continue this now rather than later."

"Ah yes of course of course how silly of me, yes very silly. We must continue so that I may help the others, yes many others need help, yes so many others. Must kill you and move along, yes yes very good indeed."

The odd man raised his bow, before firing one of the smaller projectiles at his opponent, Shunsui countered by parrying the object.

Or at least he tried. A split second later the arrow still impacted his arm, eliciting a gasp of pain and a hasty retreat from the pink clad man.

He had watched as the arrow _passed through_ his blade before impaling him.

"Ah yes very good yes very good indeed. I see you are confused, yes most confused how unfortunate yes very unfortunate. I was hoping for someone who could understand me, how unfortunate you cannot. My name is Hanno and they call me 'X' for **The X-ray**."

"My apologies Hanno-sama, I was unaware of your capabilities. So you have the ability to fire through objects then? That is quite annoying… I guess that means we will have to end this fight quickly, before I become too injured eh?"

With that the Captain vanished in a blur, appearing behind the man who had just muttered out something to himself. Something that sounded like ' _Vollstandig God's Vision'_.

Just as his blade was about to decapitate the Quincy, Shunsui watched in shock as the _Zanpakuto_ passed _through_ the man, leaving him uninjured.

Moments later another arrow pierced him, this time leaving a deep wound in his stomach.

 _***RitL***_

Ukitake was one of the most experienced Captains of the Gotei 13, thus he knew _exactly_ what the enemy plan was mere moments after their introductions. The larger man focused solely on physical strength, speed, and endurance while the female blocked any attempts that the Shinigami made at ranged combat.

They were depriving him of his _Shikai's_ ability while emphasizing his own physical weakness.

Worst of all it was working.

Thus far he had several major bruises, and one minor fracture in his arm. Meanwhile Adalgar had received quite a few slashes, but none had been deep or powerful enough to cause any serious harm. Worst of all was that his disease was starting to rear its ugly head. More than once he had been forced to abandon a counter attack due to a coughing fit. Strangely though it had never been taken advantage of. The man, and woman with him, had simply waited for it to pass and then continued their battle. Very strange behavior from enemy's who were causing massive damage and casualties throughout their home.

This thought broke him out of his inner musings, he had to end the fight and help his comrades, help those who placed their trust in him. That meant only one truly decisive action.

" _Bankai_ "

The two Quincy had taken defensive positions, but then nothing had seemingly happened. Ukitake still stood with his two swords, there was no grand flash or creature roaring into existence. There seemed to be no change at all in fact.

"I see no change in yourself Captain-Sama, nor what I see around me. This leads me to believe your ultimate technique has failed due to your condition and yet… well you seem to be just as confident as before."

"Indeed I am."

The larger man shrugged, before glancing back to his ally who nodded and prepare the barriers once more.

He charged full speed towards the Shinigami, who stood still and watched as he approached.

The Quincy swung his fist, throwing all his impressive force into the blow. Still the Shinigami made no attempt to defend or dodge the attack.

His attack connected, striking the man with all his remarkable power.

But somehow he missed.

 _***RitL***_

"It has to do with the spot you are standing in, doesn't it? Somehow you are able to shield yourself if you stand still." The white-haired Shinigami called out to his opponent.

For his part the Sternritter chuckled, loving how quick the Shinigami were to make assumptions.

"Actually…"

"It doesn't matter though, if you are stuck there than I will just move around you, since you cannot engage me…"

An arrow missed the boy's face by a fraction of an inch, drawing a thin line of blood from his cheek.

"You were saying?"

Toshiro growled before putting distance between them, "It still doesn't matter, I will just come back after Momo is safe and deal with you then."

Kort nodded at the plan, watching as the Captain began to leave he muttered to himself, but just loud enough for the boy to hear, "Hopefully the next ones will be just as perceptive as you."

This froze the ice wielder in his spot, his mind blurring forth at the implications. The man was right, if he left then there would be nothing to stop others from encountering him, others who might not be aware of what he could do. What if his own inaction lead to the death of his comrades? What if a Captain fell because he was too busy worrying about his friend?

The answer was obvious, he had to promptly crush the Quincy and move on.

" _BANKAI!_ "

"So damn predictable…" Kort mused as a dozen ice pillar began to form around him. Moments later they smashed together, appearing to end the man's existence.

"How about that for predic…"

"As I said before, we have been monitoring your battles for some time now. You used the same trick against the Arrancar remember? Did you think we wouldn't predict you would use it again? As for your assumption, you are incorrect again. You see my title is **The Domain** for a reason. Within one of my marked areas I can make one fundamental alteration of this world. In this situation, I lowered the melting point of ice to well below the temperature of the air around us. Thus, any attack you attempt will melt and dissolve away before it can do me any harm." The Sternriter interrupted, lecturing the boy as if he were a school teacher.

Growling again the Captain considered his options for a moment. His main source of offensive was now, apparently, nullified and would be helpless against the man. Of course that also meant that his adversary could not dodge or move defensively else he lose his protection.

Pointing towards the Quincy Hitsugaya began an incantation, preparing to let loose a powerful _Kido_ spell. His concentration was broken as he was forced to dodge out of the path of a hail of arrows.

"Really? You want to start a ranged battle against a Quincy? Sorry but you are dumber than a sack of bricks. I can assure you that I will not allow you time to build up any concentration for such an intricate spell, anything without full power will be countered by me directly. Face it kid you don't have a chance."

Shouting in protest, and losing his composure over the idea of failing once more in a battle, Hitsugaya charged forward to impale the man, only to halt about midway, gasping for breath and suddenly out of energy.

"Wh-what did you do?"

"Oh? Did you just now catch onto this? I already hinted at it so I am surprised you did not notice immediately. I told you that 'within one of my marked _areas_ I can make one fundamental alteration'. I never said that I only had _one_ area though. The melting domain is the one currently surrounding me, while this entire region, save for where I am standing, has an influence to dramatically increase the amount of spiritual energy used for any task. Thus your _Bankai_ has been draining you at a far higher rate than usual. I wonder if the concern for your friend blinded you to this?"

"Screw you bast…"

The white-haired boy was silenced as an arrow pierced through his chest, rendering him unconscious and near death.

 _***RitL***_

"Any chance you might take pity on a gorgeous man and let me in on your little secret?"

The Quincy began rambling, in his own unique way, about how it would be very unprofessional to do so thus giving Shunsui time to think.

'He only fires when not being attacked, but can phase through everything from _Kido_ to physical attacks. His arrows also seem to be able to phase through objects still, but there was the time when it just phased through me completely. Maybe both the arrows and the archer can only be solid or incorporeal but not both at the same time.'

Finally the Sternritter had finished, forcing the Captain to interrupt his analysis and dodge another hail of projectiles.

'So how to best exploit this…'

Another volley was dodged.

'I suppose I could use my _Bankai_ but there are quite a few other Shinigami in the area, plus there is no guarantee it would affect him.'

The Quincy had gone off on another random tangent, before firing once more.

'Looks like the only option is to time this jussssst…'

At the exact instance that Hanno fired an arrow, Shunsui vanished, and impaled him from behind with his blade.

"right" The man finished his thought, before noticing the man fell forward, dead before he hit the ground.

 _***RitL***_

Had Mina not been so shy and timid in battle she would probably have shouted out her question… if she could find a way to phrase it.

Adalgar had connected with his fist, she had seen it herself. Yet he had missed… how? She couldn't even put into words _how_ he had missed. But she knew that he had.

It was almost as if her mind and eyes were acting in different ways. She had seen the attack connect but her brain instinctively told her that it had not.

What in the world was going on?

 _***RitL***_

The larger Quincy blinked in confusion, before pulling back and trying again, once more the Captain stood still, and allowed his fist to connect.

Once more he missed.

He felt the blow strike true, and saw it as well. But the man before him had not acted as if it had. In fact, in his mind he knew that the punch had hit nothing but air.

At this moment, the Captain decided to retaliate, and swung out towards the Sternritter. It was a painfully slow slash, so obvious that even Bazz-B would have could dodge it in time. Adalgar had no problems doing so, and watched the blade pass through the area he was in moments before.

Then crimson blood poured from his chest as he was cut.

How? How had it happened? He knew that the strike had missed, had seen it so very clearly.

And yet his mind told him otherwise.

Before the white-haired man could follow up with a lethal blow a barrier once more formed between them thanks to Mina.

What came next shocked both Quincy, as the man sliced through it without effort.

"H-how!? How are you able to do this!?"

Ukitake's expression turned remorseful for a moment before he let out a deep sigh.

"My _Bankai_. _Iki Tai*_ reverses our beliefs in the world around us. If you strike you will miss, if you miss you will strike. It is incredibly simple and yet nearly impossible to master…"

A moment later an arrow struck the man from behind, fired from the female Quincy in hopes to help her ally.

Even without looking the projectile somehow missed.

"As I said…" Ukitake slashed in the open air towards the woman, who promptly received a devastating slash across her torso a second later. "It is impossible to combat this. All things bow to the mind and I have reversed the outcome of your thoughts. When you truly believe you have struck an opponent reality will force it to the opposite outcome, just as I truly knew I would not be able to cut through your shield… and thus was able to effortlessly. Along with this the side effect is that so long as it is in effect… my disease will not hinder me in any way for I truly believe it will."

 _***RitL***_

If there were two things in this world that the Captain of the Second Division was proud of it would be her speed and stealth. If she was being honest with herself then it would be three things and her 'Yoruichi shrine' would be the third.

That was why the current situation was so very frustrating. One of the two concepts that set her above the other Captains, above almost every other Shinigami to have ever lived was being mocked, by a Quincy.

Thus far in the 'duel' Sui-Feng had yet to land even a single strike against her opponent, and it was beginning to anger her to dangerous levels. Surely her mentor would _not_ have been having such a struggle.

"Would you like to take a break? I understand you are not known for your stamina. Perhaps I should go and engage Byakuya Kuchiki instead? He would undoubtedly be able to prove a better challenge than…"

Clovis ducked under the blow at the last possible second, watching as his adversary growled in anger at his taunts.

"I already told you this is pointless; I am known as **The Quick** for a reason you know."

"I don't care how fast you are, I will beat you."

"Not if you continue relying on your current abilities. I am quite disappointed you did not further develop your _Shunko_ technique. If you had I might have been forced to utilize my full abilities as well."

This gave the woman a shocked pause, if what he said was true then he wasn't even _trying_ to fight her yet. Ignoring the fact that he had yet to make any sort of offensive action the woman went through her available strategies. Her _Kido_ abilities were very limited, and mostly revolved around close proximity to begin with. Her _Shikai_ was proving to be ineffective, and even if she got a lucky strike it did not seem as though she could pull it off twice. Just as the man claimed, her mastery over the ability created by her mentor was still not yet complete. Finally, that left one option, he might be fast but perhaps she could catch him off guard with it.

" _Bankai_ "

The man grinned watching as she revealed the large launcher device now strapped to her arm.

"About time, although I must apologize in advance. I am certain that I will make better use of this than you will." With that the man raised up a small medallion, and seemed to _rip_ her ultimate weapon away from her.

A second later the man vanished, before appearing high up in the sky and firing the projectile straight down onto the woman, who was still caught up in the shock of having her own _Zanpakuto_ used against her. The resulting blast devastated the area, though not to the extent it could have had it been wielded by its original owner.

Landing a moment later the Quincy strode up to the fallen woman, before firing a point blank arrow into her skull, thus ending her life.

 _***RitL***_

The two Quincy's personal battle against the experienced Captain had very quickly turned in his favor. Utilizing his Bankai in a way that no one else could the man had delivered a dozen more blows to the two combatants, who were barely standing at this point.

The only reason they were not dead was Adalgar's epiphany moments before, when he ignored his instincts and dove straight onto his opponent's sword, thus preventing a potentially lethal 'missed' attack.

Still it was only a matter of time until one of them fell, that is until the Captain seemed to waiver for a moment, swaying as if from exhaustion.

"No… not now…"

"Ah it appears we have finally lucked out."

The man glanced up at the larger of his two adversaries, who smiled softly back, "we are aware of the stress and cost of using one's _Bankai_. Had your own been something we could have controlled I would have stolen it as soon as you had activated the ability but… well it doesn't matter now. You are out of energy Captain-Sama, which means…"

Ukitake promptly coughed up blood, falling to his knees as his ultimate technique having failed him for lack of stamina.

"If it makes you feel even slightly better… you shall be given a warrior's death my friend."

Ukitake lost consciousness just as the death blow tore into him.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _Yhwach smirked as he watched his adversary ignite the legendary blade. He had been waiting, more like dreaming, of this battle for so many centuries that he was nearly shaking with excitement._

 _***Omake: The Duel***_

"At last we meet Mayuri-Sama, face to face. Now we must determine who _truly_ is worthy of the title 'Greatest scientist'."

"I agree, but surely you must know that such a contest cannot be one of physical strength of ability, it must be through the only true manner of testing ones mind."

The Quincy nodded, "Indeed, luckily I have brought exactly what I need in order to accomplish this."

"I am prepared as well, Nemu prepare the grandest stage of them all!"

The woman nodded, before bringing out a small table and two chairs.

Sitting across from each other the two men sized the other up, before bringing out their greatest creations. Years of thought, research, blood, and sweat had gone into creating the perfection that they now brought forth.

Two decks of cards hit the table, one for each man.

"I shall begin, I summon forth 'The googly eyed mad scientist... IN ATTACK MODE!"

"Fearsome, truly fearsome indeed Mayuri-Sama, but it is no match for my 'Over steroided Luchador!"

"Fool! I _knew_ you would play such a card, and thus activate my trap card... 'Pit of magical bullshit'!"

"Impressive, but by activating your trap card mine activates as well!"

"Ah but that further activates mine!"

"Which then proceeds to trigger my trap!"

"Further escalating into the card I had laid down even prior!"

Nemu watched as the two grown men continued their battle of wits... using a child's card game. She had been hoping to build her own 'Yu-Gi-Oh' deck at some point but her father insisted that she was too young to engage in such an endeavor. Such children's card games were only for the true geniuses.

***A/N***

*Roughly translates into _"mind and body"_

So, I imagine that some of my beautiful readers are a bit confused as to why the Quincy aren't just stealing everyone's _Bankais_. Well the simple answer is, that would be boring.

The more complicated answer would be that since I have taken the time to design and think about the _Vollstandig_ I wanted to use them in the battles rather than just mentioning them and giving the Sternritter a power boost. To me the Quincy of canon _should have_ just stuck to stealing the attacks, but since the warriors would be far more knowledgeable with their own abilities, along with the fact that the stolen techniques are weakened, I would imagine that they would want to rely on their own strength more than the stolen ones.

We were cheated out of Ukitake's _Bankai_ in the manga… hopefully this makes up for it just a tad.

Hopefully all the battles have been going okay, I realize that this has been a rather... long series of fights but they are almost at an end for this section.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Ichigo (presumed)

Jugo (presumed)

Genryusai Yamamoto

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orlan

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A

B

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God - _deceased_ -

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N **The Noise** Xaros

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** \- Clovis

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God

Z

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku


	17. Blood Invasion Pt 5

**Raised in the Light**

Blood Invasion Pt. 5

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

Retsu Unohana, aka Kenpachi Yachiru, continued making her way slowly back towards her division. She was reluctant to acknowledge that the battle had taken more of her stamina than normal, probably due to her lack of training. She had been so focused on perfecting the healing arts and _Kido_ for the last several centuries that her combat skills had dulled, her killer instincts diminished.

Still she was aware of the Quincy that attempted to sneak up on her, the fact that he was still trying to follow her without being noticed was somewhere between hilarious and insulting. She was leaning more towards the insult now though.

Turning around the woman stared down the seemingly empty corridor.

"If you think that you can sneak up on me so easily then you are quite mistaken."

The middle-aged man appeared moments later, a deadly serious glare adorning his features.

"To be expected of one such as yourself. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lothar, **The Mirror**. I see that your skills have not diminished in your 'retirement'."

"Rest assured I was not retired."

"You changed your name, your persona, your specialty. You have barely even raised your sword for the past five hundred years and yet you do not consider this a retirement?"

"I prefer to think of it as expanding my horizons." The woman replied.

"Oh, I am sure you do, but we both know that you can try to hide your true self all you want, it will not simply vanish though."

"I suppose you are correct. Still if you are here to challenge me like your friend then you shall face the same fate."

"Lutz always was a bit of a 'act first think later' type of soldier. A pity, he could have been so much more useful. Well regardless let us get this over with. Despite my desire to see you suffer we really are running short on time." With that the man form his bow, before allowing the Captain to draw her blade in return.

"Do not disappoint me Kenpachi Yachiru"

 _***RitL***_

"Well well looks like my hunch was right, I figured that a couple of you cowards would be sneaking around the Central 46 during the attack."

Yhwach turned toward the grey-haired Shinigami, a man named Kensei if he was not mistaken, and raised an eyebrow. "I assure you we were not 'sneaking' anywhere. Do not blame us for your stupidity in the construction of your defenses. After your traitorous Captains I thought you would have learned not to be so blind."

The Captain growled in annoyance, before glancing at the two younger boys standing behind the elegant man. "So, whose first? No matter what all three of you are going to die here so we might as well get this over with now."

Ichigo chuckled while his brother shook his head.

"Jugo why don't you deal with this man yourself? After all, Ichigo dealt with the remaining Arrancar, it is only fair you have a chance to take part in actual combat as well."

"Of course, father."

The blonde strolled forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.

"So, you're first eh? Alright let's get this over with blondie."

 _***RitL***_

The Captain of the Fourth Division found herself staring at... herself. Or whatever this thing seemed to be. It took her shape, wielded a blade like her and even moved like her. It was an extremely eerie sight to be sure.

The two women clashed blades again, before the original delivered a kick to the other, sending it sprawling across the ground.

She just barely dodged a hail of arrows a second later.

After the man had created the false image of her the two had begun their vicious clash, with the Quincy taking advantage anywhere he could.

Thus far none of her injuries had been serious, unfortunately the woman also lacked the safety and time to perform anything high than a pain killing _Kido_.

Luckily none of the attacks had been terribly damaging.

Another exchange of blows and Unohana felt herself in another stalemate, their strength seemingly equal.

Thus far any attempts at overpowering or out maneuvering the clone proved futile, she also seemed to lack the injuries or slight exhaustion present in the original.

That being said, the other woman also seemed to lack any usage of _Kido_ or specialized equipment. With that realization Retsu lunged forward, impaling the creature on her blade just as she was stabbed as well. Luckily, she could always heal her wounds, whereas the other could not.

Only through years of blood thirsty combat was her reflexes sharp enough to warn her of the danger she was in.

She barely managed to pull her _Zanpakuto_ free as the _Licht Regen_ technique bombarded the area.

 _***RitL***_

"Look what we have here, another fight for me!" Kenpachi roared out as he charged towards the Sternitter known as Xaros.

The Quincy frowned in annoyance, before leaping away from the crazed man. Unfortunately, due to his previous battles he was in no condition to use large amounts of energy to defeat the bloodthirsty man, this meant he would be at a severe disadvantage.

He would not have the power to maintain the stolen _Bankai_ for long enough to achieve victory, and his own powers would not be sufficient for the task once the Shinigami removed his eye patch.

Barely dodging another powerful swing, but being caught by surprise from a vicious kick, the Quincy went soaring across an open area, and crashing into a wall.

"Aww come on, not another one of you weak ass shits. How come I keep getting the weird ones instead of just a normal fight?" The Captain questioned, as he stalked towards the injured Quincy.

"Ah well I guess I'll just have to..."

Whatever the man was planning was interrupted, as a projectile tore through his torso, dropping him to the ground in the process.

Seconds went by before Xaros scowled, and disappeared in a flash, only to reappear a few minutes later at the top of a large tower.

"Cutting it a little bit close aren't we Gerhard?"

"Ah come on your fine. Plus, if I hadn't intervened you could have been seriously hurt."

"I think he was planning on doing more than just hurting me."

The younger man paused, looking a bit thoughtful, before confusion set in. "Really? Like what?"

"You know what, never mind. I guess I owe you one, **Zenith**."

The sniper just smiled, before gesturing to a spot next to him.

"Take a seat and relax, I think you have done your part during the invasion."

Xaros nodded, before slowly sitting down atop the tower, letting out a groan as he felt his muscles begin to relax.

 _***RitL***_

The female Captain gasped for breath, trying to make as many mends to her damaged body as possible before her opponent could locate her once more.

She had been lucky, and had escaped the epicenter of the man's barrage before suffering too much damage. She still had dozens of puncture marks and burn wounds, along with the result of her exchanged stabbing with her mirror self.

Currently she was hiding out in a small building nearby their original battlefield. It was dark, illuminated only by a few candles. Papers and furniture lay everywhere, looking more like an earthquake had hit rather than a hasty evacuation.

Now she was reduced to leaning heavily against a wall, trying to prevent any further blood loss, that is until she felt the presence once more closing in on her location. But this time she would be ready.

 _***RitL***_

"Ah I see you are recuperating quite nicely. If I do not do something about that soon you will recover and be just as dangerous once more."

Unohana smiled slightly, "You flatter me, I am not _nearly_ as dangerous as I once was."

"True, but you also seem to be far less... evil... than you were as well."

"An attempted atonement for my sins." The woman whispered out, fighting the urge to fall back into the darkness and depression that had consumed her for so many years following her 'awakening' and realizing of what she had become.

"A worthy cause, of course you realize that despite this we still have to finish this battle of ours."

"I am aware" The woman had yet to turn towards her adversary, still leaning heavily against the wall, her hair falling messily around her shoulders as the braids had been burned off earlier.

Turning back to the man she gave a sadistic, and yet slightly sympathetic, smile before turning to face him completely.

Her sword no longer the lengthy blade as normal, but now a thin black weapon oozing onto the ground.

In the darkness and solitude, she had activated her _Bankai_ and use the shadows to mask it until the last possible second.

Now the liquid flowed up onto the Quincy, to finish the spar once and for all.

"My apologies Lothar-San, but it appears this battle of ours is at an end. My _Shikai_ uses special compounds to rejuvenate the body and soul. My _Bankai_ does the opposite, using a very potent chemical to dissolve the body away into nothing but bones. It is similar to the water used by the man who originally taught me the healing arts, one of the Royal Guard."

The Sternritter let out a sigh, before nodding and allowing the substance to completely coat him.

Seconds later the medical Captain cried out in pain and shock as she witnessed her hands begin to disolve away into nothing but bones.

"You used the darkness to hide the activation of your ultimate technique, did you really think I would not do the same? With such little amounts of light it is difficult to witness the mirror-like wings and halo that I currently bear, but what is _not_ difficult to notice is the effects of these.

 _Vollstandig God's Reflection_ allows me to reverse the effect or influence of anything I can perceive onto the one who stands before me. Essentially it causes you to destroy yourself, quite poetic don't you agree?"

The Shinigami gave one last sad chuckle, and nodded before the last parts of her body dissolved, leaving nothing left but a skeleton.

 _***RitL***_

Something was very wrong, Kensei noted hesitantly as his opponent dodged another of his attacks. The boy had been weaving around his assault for several minutes now, but had made no effort to attack or retaliate.

Was the blonde trying to wear him down? If so it would take at least another half an hour to do so at the current rate. Perhaps he figured that the others would be watching the battle and analyzing his combat style?

Glancing over the Shinigami noted that this was most certainly _not_ the case. The older man was discussing something intently with the orange haired teen, who only glanced over occasionally before refocusing on the conversation.

So what was the plan? Surely if the Quincy he was currently facing was anywhere near as skilled as he seemed he could have attempted at least one counter attack.

Hell the younger man hadn't even drawn his blade yet. It was almost as if he was not seen as a threat.

The idea made the older man's blood boil, was he being taken lightly? Toyed with just for amusement?

He would show them just how fearsome a Visored could be.

The Captain of the Ninth Division donned his Hollow Mask, further enhancing his already formidable combat abilities, and charged forward, intending on smashing the teenager before him into paste.

But each punch was dodged and each blow avoided. The Quincy flowed around his attacks like he was a rock in a stream. He couldn't even manage a glancing blow against his opponent.

After a few more aggravating minutes he had enough, and activated his trump card.

" _Bankai!"_

Jugo merely shook his head as the man charged forward, throwing a punch that would likely bring down a building if it connected... the key word being _if_.

Ducking underneath the fist was easy enough, Jugo had been dodging far faster attacks from his brother for years now and those were far less predictable than this man.

Bringing up his right arm the Sternritter swung forward, splitting the man in half with ease.

The Captain was dead before he hit the ground.

"Don't you think you drew that out just a tad Jugo?"

The blonde glanced back towards his brother, "I suppose so, but it is so rare to have an actual life and death spar that I felt the need to continue it longer than I should have. If I do not then I might become lazy and lose my edge."

"Funny coming from you... **Blade**."

The blonde rolled his eyes at his brother, leave it to him to make that type of joke.

Seconds later a massive fireball shook the area.

 _***RitL***_

Yhwach smiled as he looked upon the aged face of his greatest enemy. What was even more fulfilling was the loss he could see in the old man's eyes. Yamamoto was well aware of all the casualties that his failure had produced. His friends, colleagues, and those he had sworn to protect were being slaughtered and yet he could do nothing to stop it.

If anything it had been his fault to begin with.

"Ah Yamamoto, it appears the years have not been kind to you."

"Yhwach" the old man spat out, "I do not know how you survived your reaping one thousand years ago but rest assured it will not happen again. Your crimes will be judged and..."

"MY CRIMES!? YOU DARE TO SPEAK OF MY CRIMES!"

The older man seemed to take a step back in surprise, his eyes opening at the raw fury of the normally calm and collected Quincy lord.

"You have no right to speak of justice you monster. You are worse than the creatures that hunt innocent lives, for at least _they_ do not do so out of hate or spite. _They_ were forced into their fates while you _chose_ your path. You and your so called 'Court Guard' are nothing more than a group of fancily dressed butchers taking orders from an abomination that sits upon a throne of corpses. You should have burned for the atrocities you have committed, and yet you sit in your comfortable city, watching the suffering of those just outside your walls and fretting about your next tea ceremony and the paperwork that is piling up on your desk. You disgust me you cruel old bastard."

"We were ordered to purge you and your kind Yhwach you know this."

"Indeed, and _his_ sins shall be addressed soon enough. But for now, I wanted to look upon your face as you realized that all of this," The dark-haired man made a sweeping gesture, indicating the battle that raged around them, "was your doing. You and your kin have brought this fate upon those you swore to protect. The time of the Shinigami is over, it is the Quincy who will once more take up protection over humanity."

"Let us see if you can back up these declarations Yhwach."

"Last time we met you attacked me from behind like a coward, now that the situation has changed we shall see once and for all who is greater. The lord of the Quincy, or the General of the Shinigami."

 _***RitL***_

" _Ryujin Jakka_ "

Yhwach smirked as he watched his adversary ignite the legendary blade. He had been waiting, more like dreaming, of this battle for so many centuries that he was nearly shaking with excitement.

A slight gesture forced his sons to move farther away so that they would avoid any collateral damage that would inevitably occur.

"Ironic that you seek to protect the younger generation but bring them into a warzone that you have created." The older man pointed out, sending forth a wave of fire with a flick of his wrist.

The Quincy split the flames in two after summoning his own weapon, a broadsword made of pure energy.

"Ironic that you take on the visage of a father figure to your Captains, and yet had no problem burning children alive."

The two vanished for a moment, before appearing in the center of the clearing, clashing swords as waves of raw power radiated outwards, scorching the land and demolishing nearby structures.

With a slight grunt Yhwach pushed the older man back with sheer strength, before delivering a vicious kick to his chest, thereby sending the man cascading backwards across the makeshift arena.

"How unfortunate that you have grown so _weak_ in the centuries that have passed. If I had known this I would have planned my return much earlier on simply to have a more enjoyable battle, how disappointing."

The elder man glared silently, before slamming his blade into the ground, unleashing dozens of flaming pillars which quickly surrounded the Quincy and enveloped him in a flaming hell.

But Yamamoto was no fool, if Yhwach had survived his _Bankai_ before then there was little doubt such an attack would be the end of him.

Sure enough as the smoke cleared the man clad in nobility strode forward, completely unharmed. "Ah that was a rather close call, I _almost_ took damage from your assault. I must say though I am impressed with your restraint. We both know if you had chosen to you could have easily leveled most of the Seireitei with that attack. At this point you probably would have killed more Quincy than Shinigami. Yet another reason I am surprised that you held back, surely you have not grown soft on me after all these years?"

"Despite what you might think Yhwach I am not a senseless butcher as you are proving to be. I do not take life needlessly."

"And yet you seemed to find cause to slaughter thousands of innocent children... I wonder if you deemed them a threat to you a thousand years ago."

"Obviously, we did not do a good enough job in purging your filth from this world since some of you survived."

"Indeed" the Quincy growled out, before summoning a massive floating bow with a slight wave of his hand. A split second later the strongest Shinigami alive was put on the defensive, forced to dodge a hail of arrows that leveled nearby structures with ease.

 _***RitL***_

Another wave of hellish flames.

Another volley of arrows, screeching through the air.

Again, and again the two aged warriors clashed, decimating the area in which they battled. By now few structures remained within the proximity, and even the floor itself was destroyed in most spots leaving nothing but dirt on which to stand.

In skill, they were evenly matched, in power even more so. The single defining difference between the two was stamina.

Yamamoto was simply too old to battle in prolonged fights against someone who could match him blow for blow, and it was beginning to show.

Using _Shunpo_ to dodge another devastating barrage the older man stopped to catch his breath, and gaze over at the black-haired man who still seemed at his peak. Ignoring the few light injuries they both bore the Shinigami knew that he was at a disadvantage. Whatever had allowed Yhwach to reform had also kept him from aging it seemed, and thus allowing him to ignore the penalties that such a thing caused.

Again, he silently cursed the Soul King for not granting him the blessing that had been given to the other Royal guards, that being a life without age.

If the battle continued as it were he would eventually tire and either make a mistake, or simply be too exhausted to fight. He couldn't allow this to happen, Yhwach and the Quincy _had_ to be stopped no matter the cost. The Captain General owed it to the fallen to end the war once and for all.

" _Bankai_ "

Once more the Quincy lord gazed upon the form of the most feared _Zanpakuto_ in existence, _Zanka no Tachi_.

After his previous defeat at the tip of that blade Yhwach had made it one of his goals to analyze and defeat the weapon. It had taken Mask nearly a century to complete this, and concluded that the technique was simply too dangerous to try and outright counter. All defenses would fall before it, and with it the man could not be physically touched. It was doubtful that even the _Heilig Pfeil_ would be able to pierce through the shroud of flames that surrounded the aged general.

That left only two options. The first was to defeat the man _before_ he could release his ultimate attack, but considering how powerful he was this was deemed as impractical. The second option… well that was what lead to one of the scientist's greatest creations.

"Here we are once more Yhwach, you facing an impossible mountain to climb while I prepare to destroy you once and for all."

"Ah but that is where you are mistaken Yamamoto. Not all mountains _need_ to be climbed." With that the Quincy pulled out a small medallion, and used it to steal the most powerful weapon Soul Society wielded from its owner.

 _***RitL***_

Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto gazed on sadly at the scene before him. It was blindingly obvious what had finally occurred, his own pride had caught up and defeated him in the end. His ultimate weapon, one which he deemed to be infallible, had been taken because he never believed it to have any flaws. For him to activate it would mean the end of the battle, never thinking that an enemy would focus on denying him that advantage.

But it had happened before, Aizen had proven that his abilities _could_ be rendered useless and yet he had not heeded this obvious warning. He should have been preparing and training not only himself but those around him rather than remaining static and assuming they would be untouchable behind their walls and reputation.

Now it was over, most of the Captains lay dead and countless Shinigami with them. It would take the entire Royal Guard to turn the tide in the Soul Society's favor at this point, and if they were just as prideful as he had been… then the Quincy had already won.

Letting out a sigh, and for the first time allowing his age to catch up to him, Yamamoto tilted his head back to gaze up into the blue skies and sunlight that peaked through the smoke billowing from the carnage consuming the Seireitei.

It truly was a beautiful day to die.

" _Kita: Tenchi Kaijin"_ Yhwach called out, swinging the stolen sword and letting loose a wave of invisible flames which vaporized all but a small portion of the Captain General's body. Killing him in the same way the older man had used a thousand years prior.

Justice had begun to catch up to the present day.

 _***RitL***_

As the battles throughout the Seireitei began to end an eerie silence fell over the once glorious city.

Fires still raged on, and the moans of the injured became a sort of 'white noise'. It was in this setting that a lone _Garganta_ opened high above the ruins.

"Kisuke... what the hell happened here?"

The scientist, for once in his life, could not form an answer, instead he merely gazed out of the blood-soaked carnage that lay before them.

"Sir?"

The larger man seemed to snap the blonde out of his stupor, who immediately began analyzing the situation. "Right, first things first we locate and save as many survivors as we can, there still appears to be enemy forces scattered throughout so stay on your guard and keep in groups.

Glancing over the shopkeeper was about to question the two Kurosaki sisters, but stopped as they seemed to be staring out into the wasteland with unblinking eyes.

Their father noticed this as well, and knelt to their level, "Karin, Yuzu are you two..."

The two girls failed to respond, instead disappearing together in a flicker of _Shunpo_.

"Keep close to them Isshin, we will see what else is is going on."

The man nodded in thanks towards the dark-skinned woman, before chasing after his two girls.

 _***RitL***_

"It appears as though the reinforcements from the World of the Living have finally arrived father, I suggest that we begin our retreat since the Royal Guard could very well be close behind. That and with our forces already exhausted we could suffer disastrous casualties if we engage them now."

"I agree Jugo, very well send up the flare and order a full retreat. Make sure that Mask closes the portals once we are all through, no sense in giving our enemies any opportunity to counter attack."

"Of course father."

As the three men moved towards the nearest portal that had been created by their fallen companion two small figures intercepted them.

"Hold it right there, who the hell do you think you are?"

"Ah how unexpected, I would not have thought that you two would be able to intercept us in time, quite impressive I must say."

"ANSWER THE QUESTION ASSHOLE!"

Yhwach smiled at the two girls, before glancing towards the orange haired boy.

"Perhaps you should take care of this my son."

Ichigo nodded reluctantly, "yes father".

 _***RitL***_

As the other two Quincy moved off to the side Ichigo stood in front of the two sisters.

"You... seem familiar somehow. Who are you?"

"My name is Ichigo, and you must be Yuzu Kurosaki and Karin Kurosaki correct?"

"That's right... but it doesn't matter Yuzu, whoever they are, these jerks are going down!"

The two girls drew their blades, but much to Karin's annoyance the man kept his same relaxed stance, not even bothering to form a weapon.

"Aren't you going to form your bow or something?"

"That won't be necessary. Neither of you have a chance of defeating me in combat."

"Eclipse _Angetsu*_!"

"Brighten _Shougetsu**!"_

Ichigo looked on as the two unleashed their _Shikai_ forms, Karin's a pitch black blade that seemed to swallow the light around it. Yuzu's, on the other hand, appeared to be made of crystal, reflecting the sunlight in a dazzling way.

"You shouldn't underestimate us, we took down Aizen you know!"

"Funny, I was under the impression that it took nearly half a dozen of you to defeat the man."

The dark haired girl growled, before charging in while the other took up a support role.

'Seems to be their common strategy' Ichigo mused, as he dodged out of the infuriated slashes of his sister and then leapt backwards to avoid a lightning _Kido_ launched by the other.

"I can assure you that this battle will not end the way you imagine it."

"What are you trying to achieve? Why attack the Soul Reapers?"

The orange haired teenager glanced towards the confused brunette before answering, "To exterminate them of course, just as they attempted to do to us a thousand years ago."

"YOU STUPID BASTARD GET OVER IT!" Karin charged once more, only to receive an open palmed blow to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her while she was thrown to the ground a moment later.

Yuzu paused, unsure if she could assist without harming her sister or not.

"D-don't you get it you stupid asshole? If you kill all the Shinigami, then the world collapses!"

Ichigo glanced down at the girl he had pinned below him.

"The balance correct? That if too many Hollows are destroyed it will end with the destruction of everything."

The girl, finally thinking she had reached the teen, nodded while still trying to catch her breath.

"According to who?"

Both girls froze.

"Quincy have existed for centuries before the Shinigami did, and the only way that you have of 'keeping balance' is through a _Zanpakuto_ … which was created by the Shinigami after their inception. Do you really think if the world was so fragile that it would have lasted for so long? The fact of the matter is that the World of the Dead and the World of the Living follow similar rules. Rules such as gravity exist in both, but there is another law that exists that is followed in both: Conservation of Mass and Energy. You see a Soul is just the physical form of the energy. As such it cannot be truly 'destroyed'. All Quincy do when we kill a Hollow or Soul is to convert it back into energy, otherwise known as forcing reincarnation early."

Karin's eyes widened in shock, surely the boy was lying right? There was no way that everyone would have lied to them, and why would they? What purpose would there be to do such a thing?

As if reading her mind the orange haired teen answered her, "Because of the Soul King."

"Wh-what?"

"The Soul King is the reason that so many Shinigami believe the lies they have been told. They follow its word religiously, thinking it to be a God… they are wrong. It is a parasite, a cancer on the worlds that is slowly corrupting more and more things. If it is not stopped…"

"N-No! You're wrong! Rukia, Renji, the others… they would never lie to us!"

"Most likely they truly believe in the balance as well. Most Shinigami probably don't even know the truth. But rest assured that some do. It doesn't matter though, all Soul Reapers view the Soul King as a Godlike entity to be worshiped and followed blindly, that is why they must be destroyed. Otherwise the cycle will never end… it is the same reason that your friend must die."

 _***RitL***_

Tatsuki Arisawa gently set down the unseated Shinigami she had carried to the medical ward. Glancing around she saw the true scope of the attack, the building was beyond being filled to capacity, with medics trying their best to run between patients without stepping on anyone.

Most beds had two to three people in them.

The floor was covered in the injured and dying.

Wounds were being wrapped with anything and everything available.

War was hell.

Glancing around she noticed that her best friend was still out, undoubtedly trying to heal those who couldn't be transported. With a nod to the lieutenant in charge she took off once more.

A few minutes later she spotted the long orange hair of her friend. Just as she assumed the girl was using her ability to heal a grievously injured Soul Reaper.

"Orihime it isn't safe to be out here by yourself. We need to move him back to the barracks."

"Okay Tatsuki, just a few more sec…"

Whatever the girl was about to say was interrupted, as a Quincy arrow tore through the middle of her torso, sending the girl falling to the ground in a burst of blood.

Tatsuki's world froze as she stared in horror, before rushing towards her best friend.

Two steps later a projectile tore into her leg, sending the ground rushing up to meet her as well.

"Sorry about this. We really didn't want to kill you…" a voice called out as a woman flickered into existence. "My name is Clotilde, I am called **The Unseen**."

"P-Please… d-don't hurt…"

The woman's expression went from reluctant to remorseful and sad, "Don't worry we aren't here for her dear. I am truly sorry that we had to target you. But the problem is that we are at war, and you are classified as one of the 'War Enders'."

"Wh-what!? No stay away from Orihime! She doesn't hurt people; SHE IS A GOOD PERSON LEAVE HER ALONE!"

The Quincy turned back, seeing the tears brimming at the black-haired girl's eyes. "I know she is… even his majesty knows that. We know all about her and that is why this decision was so hard for him. I was chosen to make it quick, there are others who would not do so."

With that the woman walked to where the bleeding girl lay, who was reaching out for her friend, before forming an arrow above her head.

"I reject"

Tatsuki, for a moment, thought that Orihime had come to her senses and formed a shield, perhaps it would save her in the end? Would it delay the attack long enough for help to arrive?

She would never know, as a glowing bubble enveloped her instead, beginning the process of healing her leg.

Even in her last moments Orihime thought only of others.

Then the arrow was fired, and her best friend's smile faded from the world.

 _***RitL***_

"Y-y-you targeted Orihime… why?"

"She is dangerous, obviously not by herself but what she has the _potential_ to do. With the ability to bring back the dead she could make our entire assault, along with all our casualties, mean nothing. The war would continue but this time you would know exactly what we are capable of. She is simply too dangerous to leave be. I am sorry, there were debates on whether we could simply kidnap her instead but… well we cannot afford the same mistakes as Aizen Sosuke."

"You're a monster!"

Ichigo glanced at the brunette, who had tears forming in her eyes as she felt her friend's death.

"Undoubtedly"

" _BANKAI!"_

The Sternritter watched on as the girl was engulfed by a bright light. After a few moments, it dimmed enough to reveal her new form. Her _Zanpakuto_ was gone, replaced by a circular mirror she carried with both hands.

Her black outfit was replaced by a dazzling white Kimono.

Her eyes shone like the sun.

" _El Sei You***"_

Surprisingly it was not the girl who declared the name of her own attack, it was the orange haired Quincy instead, looking on unimpressed.

A split second later he vanished, as a beam of pure golden energy suddenly appeared where he had been standing a second prior.

Appearing several feet away he vanished again instantly, as another pillar annihilated the spot.

Again and again the pattern repeated, Ichigo appearing in a position, only to vanish after an instant, and the attack area being enveloped in golden energy.

Karin merely stared on in awe, never had she seen her sister with such a fury in her eyes. Never had she seen someone so casually avoiding her most powerful ability.

Minutes passed, until finally Yuzu fell to her knees, panting in exhaustion from overusing the technique.

"Was that it? I will say it is a moderately impressive technique, especially considering some of the ones we have observed but…"

He leapt up into the air, scowling as a monsterous hand made of darkness ripped from the ground and attempted to grab him.

He was well aware of his other sister activating her _Bankai_ as well. Did she believe she had been subtle about it?

" _Jigoku Katsuya_ ****"

In her new form Karin appeared to be cloaked entirely in a whispy shadowy substance, almost like black flames.

Her sword also had vanished, but it was not replaced with anything.

"So you know the name of our techniques huh? Peeping on us like a creeper eh?"

"Hardly, it is always wise to know everything about one's opponents before charging in to face them. What do you know about me after all?"

The two paused hesitantly, looking each other in the eyes before Karin scowled. "It doesn't matter! You took our friend from us so we are going to take you from them!"

"Ah vengeance, funny that you declare ours to be pointless but yours is acceptable, even though it is focused on the wrong person."

Again, he dodged out of the way of a shadowed construct, this one a clawed hand reaching to impale him.

The two were far too easily provoked, and their techniques far too easily dodged.

"You have no chance of victory here. Even if you attacked together there would be no chance for you to defeat me, and your sister has already run out of stamina. Soon you will too and the fight will be over."

"Then what asshole!? You going to kill us too!?"

"No, you are not a threat to us, and there has been enough death already."

After dodging another attempt to assault him with a shadowy creation the boy vanished and appeared directly next to the still winded Yuzu.

"Enough, we both know your accuracy is not high enough to avoid hitting her."

"Do it Karin! Think of Orihime, take him out!"

"Of course you realize that it will not hit me regardless, I have been easily dodging every attack you and your sister have thrown at me. There is no reason to think that will change now."

Karin hesitated, before nodding and deactivating her ultimate technique.

"Good, now then I will be goi…"

Ichigo spun around in place, kicking the brunette lightly away from him while summoning his sword to parry the powerful overhand slash from the Shinigami who had snuck up behind him.

His own biological father

"D-dad!" the brunette cried out from where her sister gently picked her off the ground.

"Don't worry sweethearts your father is… here…"

The man's eyes widened in shock, before the orange haired boy pushed him back.

"I-I-Ichigo?"

 _***RitL***_

How? Why? Were just two of the questions throwing themselves around the head of the former Captain.

How was his son alive? Why was he here, fighting his sisters? Why hadn't they been able to find him? Where had he been? Was he okay?

"Ah it appears that the reunion has come full swing. A pity, I was hoping to avoid this."

"I-I-I-Ichigo? It is you!"

"Dad… who is this?"

The older man paused, his face becoming grim as he realized the situation he was now in. He had never told the two young girls of their brother's existence, there had been no reason to. They were too young to remember him, in fact they barely recalled even having a mother. There was no reason to give them something else to cry over at night, or another impossible goal to try and pursue.

Now it seemed that his sins were going to catch up to him. Karma truly was a bitch.

"My name is Ichigo, formerly Ichigo Kurosaki. I was your brother a very long time ago."

The two sisters froze, faces caught between denial, horror, and shock.

"Th-that isn't true… right dad? Tell us it isn't true!"

"It… it is, I am sorry Karin. Ichigo went missing when your mother died. We searched for so long and never found any signs… Ichigo, son, where were you?"

"With us of course Isshin Shiba."

Spinning around the clan heir's eyes opened wide in horror.

Yhwach, the Quincy lord, the great rebel, the Bloody King, the Devil himself.

He was known by many names throughout the legends of the Soul Society, him being the greatest villain and monster of all time. One who sought to destroy the balance, and thus all life, simply because he wanted to become a God.

This monster had taken his son?

"Ah I see that you do recognize me Isshin Shiba, how convenient. That will save us the introductions. I assure you that my son has been quite safe with me, far more than with you. After all if it had not been for me he would have been killed by the same Hollow that took your wife away."

"YOU TOOK HER AWAY!"

"I did no such thing. She refused the summonings of her people and thus her powers were removed. I raised no hand to her though."

"BASTARD! BURN _ENGETSU_!"

Before he could even attempt a _Gestuga Tensho,_ Yhwach sent a devastating volley of arrows, into him. Though he survived he was now bloody and barely able to stand on his own.

His daughters merely gaped. Their father was one of the most powerful Shinigami alive… and he had been defeated effortlessly.

"Father, please spare him."

The Quincy lord glanced to his orange haired son, and nodded his consent.

"Very well, let us depart. The Royal Guard is on their way and I have no intentions of dealing with them yet."

The three figures turned, two vanishing instantly and heading back through the nearest portal.

One though, one glanced backwards, looking at the family he was once again leaving behind. The two glares, despite the confusion and reluctance in them, made him wince.

He vanished a moment later as well.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

" _HEY! Who the hell are you five?"_

 _Said five turned, and noted the two young girls approaching them._

" _Psst hey Ichibe, who the hell are they?"_

" _Ah so you must be Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki, finally we meet face to face."_

 _***Omake: Family Reunion***_

The orange haired boy looked up into the eyes of the man he just crossed swords with, the eyes of his biological father.

They paused for a moment, the sounds of the chaos around them fading into the distance. All became silent until…

Tears of joy started rolling down the man's face.

"ICHIGO MY SON! GIVE YOUR FATHER A HUG! A MAAAAAAAAANLY HUG!"

The Quincy's danger senses kicked in, he had to escape!

But the Shinigami was possessed by an unnatural speed, an unholy strength.

The teenager gasped out as arms wrapped around his fleeing body, pulling him into an inescapable grip.

The two girls looked on in pity.

"YOU HAVE MISSED SO MUCH MY SON! YOU ARE SO GROWN UP NOW! HAVE YOU BEEN EATING CORRECTLY? HAVE YOU KEPT YOUR GRADES UP? HAVE YOU GOTTEN LAID YET?"

"Wh-WHAT!?"

"AH HA! YOU HAVE! NO SHIBA HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO HIDE HIS TRIUMPHANT ASCENSION INTO MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANHOOD!"

"LET GO OF ME YOU CRAZY BASTARD!"

"Isshin Shiba perhaps you should…"

"And you…" the man growled out, turning so fast that he inadvertently tossed the boy through a nearby building from the force. "You took my son, raised him, comforted him where I was denied… COME AND JOIN US IN A FAMILY HUG MY FELLOW FATHER!"

This time it was Yhwach's turn to open his eyes wide in horror.

As the former Captain began chasing around the Quincy lord, attempting to capture him in his 'death grip' the two young girls approached the battered form of their brother.

"Is he always like this?" the boy groaned out.

"Yeah… sorry about that by the way."

"Nah… its cool… except the fact I can't feel my arms."

"It'll pass" Yuzu replied with a sage nod.

"So… you are our brother eh?"

The boy lying face down in the dirt nodded somehow.

"And you are some kind of royalty?"

Again, a nod.

"So… when are you buying us icecream to make up for everything?"

The brunette squealed in joy at the thought of the tasty treat, "yay icecream!"

Ichigo just let out another groan.

***A/N***

Again I apologize if these translations are butchered… I did the best I could with what the Internet provided

*Darkness of the Moon

**Shining Moon

*** Reflection of the Holy Sunrise

****Hell's Empty Night

So, the first invasion has ended... and the casualties were enormous to say the least.

Like my other Bleach story I am a bit tired of these one-sided wars where all the good guys are just fine at the end and the bad guys, generally, kill each other more than anything else.

"Her ability is to limit, reject, and negate any kind of event that has happened to her target… It is a power that trespasses into God's territory." -Aizen Sosuke concerning Orihime Inoue's abilities.

If Aizen was correct, Orihime is possibly _the most powerful_ character in all of Bleach. There is no reason she should not have been able to simply bring back every deceased Shinigami, fix all _Bankais,_ and restore all wounds that were given during the first invasion of Soul Society. This is a power that literally changes the outcome of wars… and yet she was never deemed a threat by Yhwach?

As I stated before, I have taken over 'command' of the tactical actions of the Quincy. I realized long ago that Orihime is by far the most _dangerous_ character to have in a war setting.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Ichigo (presumed)

Jugo (presumed)

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Orihime - _deceased_ -

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A

B **The Blade** Jugram

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God - _deceased_ -

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N **The Noise** Xaros

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** \- Clovis

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku


	18. Desperate Alliances

**Raised in the Light**

Desperate Alliances

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

Shunsui Kyoraku read over the letter for the fifth time, gave another long and exasperated sigh before proceeding to drag himself away from the stack of information that had been accumulating on his desk for the past day.

In their infinite 'wisdom' the Central 46 had promoted him to the rank of Captain General. Not like there was much for him to take command over at this point.

Nine Captains dead, including the previous commander and father figure to him, Yamamoto. Six Lieutenants dead, four had been directly killed during the battle but two more had passed away since then.

Isane Kotetsu had been devastated when she had failed to save the two, she was so sure that if her Captain had survived that their losses would not nearly have been as great. Omaeda Marechiyo, lieutenant of the Second Division, and his own lieutenant Nanao Ise had been caught in an ambush while attempting to rescue the seriously wounded Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki.

Luckily during the retreat those two had been overlooked, and thus had been saved regardless.

That left a mere four 'official' Captains of the Gotei 13, technically he could barely count Zaraki considering the man was severely wounded and probably wouldn't last until the next fight anyway.

Apart from that over 70% of the remaining Shinigami had been killed in the devastating assault.

The only way they could remain functioning now was to set aside all past grievances and debts, and humble themselves to any remaining allies they might possess.

 _***RitL***_

"Is it true?"

Isshin Shiba glanced up from his recovery bed to his two daughters that stood in the doorway. They had been waiting, holding back on this topic until he was recovered.

Now he was wishing that he had been more injured in his 'battle'.

"Yes"

"Why... WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL US!?"

"What? That you had a brother back before you could even remember? That he disappeared and even though we searched for years we couldn't find him? That I failed _yet another_ member of our family?"

"We deserved to know..." Karin muttered out, for once being the calmer of the two.

"It doesn't matter..."

"What do you mean? OF COURSE IT MATTERS! Our brother just appeared and sided with the enemy!"

"Yes, he did... and now..."

"Don't you dare say it" the black-haired girl growled out, "don't you dare say we have to kill him."

"You know I don't want this... he is my son for God's sake!"

"And he is our brother, he chose not to hurt us." Yuzu pointed out, finally calming herself down.

"He might not have had time to, with me approaching and the others..."

"He saved your life," Karin interrupted, "he asked their leader _not_ to kill you."

Isshin paused, staring down at the blankets for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"And the Soul King? Is he what Ichigo said? Is he some sort of monster?"

"Of course not, Yhwach is the monster. The Soul King is what regulates the balance..."

"The balance that _isn't_ real?"

"That's enough, you two have to get ready for the next battle. That means focusing your bodies and your minds. They are trying to deceive you just like Aizen did."

"You mean when he told us the truth about you and our mother?"

Again, the former Captain froze, before falling silent once more.

Minutes later the two girls left, realizing that their father was ending the conversation whether they liked it or not.

 _***RitL***_

A soft knocking alerted the human girl to her friends entering the room. Glancing up she saw that Uryu and Chad were both there, she had a feeling though that Yuzu and Karin would be a bit preoccupied for the time being.

"Tatsuki how are you doing?" The bespectacled boy inquired, glancing around nervously to avoid upsetting her.

"I'm furious beyond reasoning but... not at any of you."

"If there is anything we can do Tatsuki... Orihime was our friend too."

"I know Chad, I just... she was my responsibility. I was supposed to protect her"

"This is war, and like it or not there are going to be casualties. You are right in that Orihime shouldn't have been one of them but you cannot blame yourself for them targeting her. We should have known better and waited at the medical HQ rather that venturing out. We should have stuck together." The Quincy continued, silently cursing the other members of his race for their atrocities. They were restarting a war for vengeance, a conflict for no reason other than to kill one another for a feud well over a thousand years old.

For the first time, he was sickened by his people's actions.

"It isn't your fault either Uryu. You aren't like them, you know the difference between taking lives out of necessity and taking them needlessly." Chad commented, noticing that the scrawny boy seemed a bit distraught.

"I know but I still feel partially responsible, just like how Yuzu and Karin felt when Renji injured me when I tried to save Rukia. It wasn't their fault but they still felt that connection."

"So, what is the plan now?" the largest man inquired, glancing between his two remaining best friends.

"I don't know about you two… but I only have one goal in mind, to kill the bitch who took Orihime from me. Nothing else matters to me anymore."

"Tatsuki…"

"NO I DON'T CARE URYU! She was… important to me… after all you went through to defeat the bastard who took your grandfather away you _should_ understand."

The pale boy froze, before slowly nodding. "I do, but I also know that defeating her will not bring you peace."

"Peace is out of the question, all I want is revenge. I don't intend to live through this war anyway."

The two men gazed on in shock and horror at their friend, who had just declared her own death during the conflict.

"You… you can't be serious Tatsuki! What would Orihime think if she heard you?"

"She would probably be disappointed in me… but I don't care anymore. Orihime was one of the few things I had left in this world, I know that I won't be able to walk away from a fight against a Captain level opponent so I am not going to bother with that idea. I just want to make sure she doesn't walk away either."

 _***RitL***_

"Captain General" The young genius greeted as the strode into the meeting hall.

"Captain General" Byakuya Kuchiki equally nodded in respect, as he took his spot in the nearly empty room.

"You two don't need to call me that, we don't really have the time or reason to continue those traditions right now."

"Still we are all that's left of the Captains save for Kenpachi. We should at least try to continue traditions."

"Traditions are what helped put us into this mess. If we hadn't been so damn blind up until now... well it doesn't matter. Look I have called the two of you here for your input, the fact of the matter is that the three of us are pretty much the only functioning officer corp left of the Court Guard. If the Quincy attack again... well there won't be a Seireitei remaining if that happens. For that reason, I have already enlisted some outside assistance, if we lose this war we will lose everything, agreed?"

The two nodded suspiciously, "If I may Shunsui-Sama, who exactly have you..."

"Oh, look who it is, little Byakuya-kun."

"Yoruichi" the man growled out, turning to face the four outcasts from Karakura town that walked into the room.

"I am asking you both to keep calm during all of this. I have offered _all_ the previous exiles full pardons if they lend us assistance. We cannot afford to suffer the casualties we did in the last invasion." The normally calm man interrupted, earning nods from all those assembled.

"Which brings me to my next point, Hitsugaya I need you to think before you act now."

"What do you..."

"Oh, hello Hitsugaya-kun, I hope you have been keeping Matsumoto safe for me."

The young man was halfway across the room, his sword unsheathed before the newly appointed commander reached him and slammed him into the floor.

"GIN!"

"I ordered you to _think_ before you acted. As I said... we need all the help we can get. Gin Ichimaru has been given a full pardon as well."

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! NEXT YOU WILL BE SAYING AIZEN HAS BEEN RELEASED!"

The silence that answered him earned wide eyed responses even from Kisuke and Yoruichi.

"Shunsui... tell me you didn't..." Isshin growled out in warning.

"Yes Commander-Sama, why don't you tell them _exactly_ what you did?"

Everyone turned, save one, to watch in horror as the immortal strolled into the room, his patented knowing smirk still on his face.

"Aizen..."

"Oh, my Gin so much hostility for your former Captain?"

"Only because I didn't kill you when I had the chance."

Sosuke's smirk widened.

"Kisuke can you seal the bastard again? No way am I letting this monster near my children."

The blonde nodded slowly, drawing his blade to stand next to his friend, while the former prisoner prepared his own retaliation.

"ENOUGH!"

All hostility faded as the inhabitants turned toward the furious commander, "In case you morons haven't put two and two together yet... if the Quincy win we _all lose_. As in the Soul Society, The World of the Living, the Seireitei, and _all_ Shinigami. That includes Aizen as well. He was already offered a chance to join them and turned them down which means he is on their list of enemies now like the rest of us."

"What's wrong Aizen? Didn't want to play with the other kids?"

The sociopath turned towards Yoruichi, and gave a slight smile. "Hardly, Yhwach offered me a position as a normal officer, can you imagine? All the work I went through just to go back to being a normal Captain again? So, I told him that his end would be met at the end by me and me alone, and the man proceeded to declare me an enemy."

"How can we trust him Shunsui-Sama?"

"Simple," the Captain replied to the nobleman, who had been fairly silent throughout the proceedings, "I have an insurance policy in place. If he betrays us it will lock his spiritual energy down to only be able to influence objects with a foot of him. Then it freezes his body in place as well."

"Indeed, quite cruel of you to keep me on such a leash Commander-Sama, but I suppose as long as I am given the opportunity to kill that man I could care less."

"So, this puts us at what, thirteen if we include everyone in this room, Kenpachi, and Isshin's daughters? That means that we are back up to the original number of Captains but even so..."

"I realize the odds are not in our favor right now Yoruichi-Sama. I have also sent notice to the Royal Guard, they should be arriving..."

A loud crash outside gained everyone's attention.

"Now"

 _***RitL***_

"Such a miserable state the Seireitei is in. Whatever was Yamamoto thinking when he made those orders for its defense?"

The tallest man shrugged, "Ya got me Shutara, I am disappointed we don't have more of a welcome though, I mean we are _Squad Zero_ after all, you would think we could at least get some..."

"HEY! Who the hell are you five?"

Said five turned, and noted the two young girls approaching them.

"Psst hey Ichibe, who the hell are they?"

"Ah so you must be Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki, finally we meet face to face."

"Uh sure, and you would be?"

"Ichibe Hyosube, Commander of Squad Zero."

"What exactly is Squad Zero?" the brunette inquired, only to be answered by a voice from behind them.

"They are the Royal Guard, the five Captains chosen to protect the Royal Realm and the Soul King. Their power is said to be greater than that of the entire Gotei 13 combined."

"Ah Shunsui-San, how good it is to see you again."

The man nodded towards the larger woman, "Hikifune-Sama"

"Yo yo yo what the heck, you all got wrecked. What's..."

The five froze when Aizen entered the area, and his gaze passed over each in turn.

"Ah so you are the Royal Guard, delighted to meet you after all this time."

"Aizen Sosuke, I wasn't aware you had been released."

"Just this morning, 'Monk Who Calls the Real Name'."

"Captain Shunsui you have some explaining to..."

"That would-be _Captain Commander Shunsui_ Shutara-Sama."

The title gave them their answer, he had invoked his authority to bolster whatever forces he could.

 _***RitL***_

"We are taking Kenpachi Zaraki with us."

It was a statement that invoked no arguments.

Shunsui nodded, watching as the frailest of the Royal Guard gestured towards the man held inside of a strange sphere.

"We have also decided on taking Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai, they have potential that needs to be unlocked for you to triumph in your next encounter."

Again, the Captain Commander nodded towards the commander of Squad Zero.

"What about us? We have been Shinigami the shortest amount of time, maybe if we had some sort of training we could..."

The bald monk turned towards the two sisters, "the Royal Palace is only for _true_ Shinigami, which neither of you are. We do _not_ waste time on fakes."

"Not real? Listen here asshole my sister and I are just as real as any other Soul Reaper here. Hell we at least _did something_ during Aizen's rebellion as opposed to you five jack..."

"Karin, enough. We cannot force them to do what they do not wish. We will figure something out here."

The dark-haired girl glared at her father, before Yuzu took her hand and silently shook her head.

"Fine whatever, but don't come whining to us when our brother kicks your asses."

Most of those assembled stared curiously at the two girls.

"What do you mean 'brother' Karin Kurosaki?"

"Exactly what I just said Byakuya, one of the Quincys is our long-lost brother. Funny how our father never mentioned it to us until we had to face him in combat."

Kisuke and Yoruichi, however, stared at the man in shock.

"Isshin..."

"I'll tell you both later, but yes it appears that Yhwach somehow found and took Ichigo."

"That would explain how we could never find him..."

"YOU ASSHOLES KNEW!?"

The two outcasts had the decency to look down at the ground with shame.

"We... helped your father look for him..." The dark-skinned woman muttered out, avoiding the accusing look in the two young girl's eyes.

"Karin, Yuzu it isn't... we had to do it this way, please understand."

"Oh, we _understand_ all right. You _once again_ manipulated the situation to make it whatever the hell you wanted. You used us just like when you sent us after your stupid _Hogyoku_ , it's no different than informing us about our mother, except for this time there was no _reason_ not to tell us about him. You just figured that you knew best because of your age... well guess what YOU'RE WRONG!"

"Yuzu Kurosaki, as interesting as this is I care not for your personal issues. What information can you give us on the Quincy you faced?"

"Up yours asshole, he isn't just some Quincy he is our brother."

"Karin, they are just trying to help."

"No _dad_ they are trying to kill him! We lost our mother, we are not going to help you destroy our brother too. If you want _information_ then how about this, he took both my sister and me down... effortlessly. We couldn't even scratch him even with our _Bankais_. So, good luck fighting someone who appears to be at Aizen's level."

With that the two girls turned, before excusing themselves.

 _***RitL***_

"Karin, what are we going to do?"

"Look despite what we found out... it doesn't change the fact that they killed Orihime. Tatsuki is still recovering from the trauma but I can tell she is... different now. We still need to be ready for when they attack again."

"Do you think that... that Ichigo would kill us?"

"I don't know but something tells me he won't" The black-haired sister paused for a moment, thinking back on the fight. "It wasn't like he _didn't_ have the ability to do so. He could have easily taken us down at any point during the battle but chose not to. But it isn't like when we faced off against Aizen. I don't think he was toying with us I just think that he didn't _want_ to hurt us."

The two girls fell silent, before Yuzu nodded, "I feel the same way, I didn't want to say anything because..."

"Because all of the adults are being assholes? Yeah, I know. But they are right, the Quincy attacked us, killed people we knew. Even if Orihime was the only real friend of ours that they took away..."

"And the Soul King?"

Karin sighed, her mind wandering to everything that had been revealed and happened in the last day or so.

"I don't know..."

 _***RitL***_

"Isshin..."

"I know Kisuke... I know..."

"What are we going to do? We can't let them kill your son!" Yoruichi practically shouted in the private room that the three outcasts had relocated to.

"I don't know how much of a choice we are going to have in this. Ichigo participated in an attack on the Seireitei that killed nearly three fourths of all Shinigami. I can't imagine that the Royal Guard are just going to let him go because he is your son."

The father gave a deep sigh, trying to work out a solution in his mind, but so far, he wasn't coming up with any scenario that ended well.

"Maybe we can bargain with them? I mean if we help them take down Yhwach despite not being officially Soul Reapers anymore..."

"That's a stretch even for you Isshin, but I guess it is worth a shot." The blonde agreed, but the other two noted how unsure he sounded.

"Not to be the depressing one here but... are we sure that Ichigo would even surrender? I mean if what you said is true then he doesn't sound like he is exactly willing to give up and live the peaceful life when we win."

"I'm not sure if I can convince him or not, it has been so long after all. But what I do know is that he willingly held back against his sisters and asked for Yhwach to spare me. That does not sound like the actions of a sadistic psychopath to me."

"Maybe Karin and Yuzu are the keys then? Quincy have always had a strong tie to family. Perhaps those two can convince him to let go of his hatred."

"I will talk with them about it. I think I should give them a few days to cool down though, they don't seem to be very happy with us right now."

The three fell silent for a moment, before the dark-skinned woman muttered out a response, "we should have told them, there was no reason not to after all."

"We all know why we didn't Yoruichi, it wouldn't have solved anything." Isshin argued, earning him a slight glare from the woman.

"Probably not but they still deserved to know! Hell, if we had just had the conversation when you revealed the truth about their mother after Aizen's defeat then we wouldn't be in this situation with them to begin with."

"Probably not, but we cannot change the past now Yoruichi, all we can do is look forward to the future and try to correct our mistakes."

The two nodded at the shopkeeper's wisdom, before falling into silent thought once more.

 _***RitL***_

"Stupid bucktoothed, blonde haired, big eyed, dumb faced, kind, loyal, compassionate… ASSHOLE!"

The blonde broke into tears once more, mourning the loss of the man who had become the most important person in her left, especially after her previous Captain had left for a promotion.

"Shinji… why? Why did you have to die?"

"It is war Hiyori, we were beyond lucky that the conflict with Aizen did not result in a single casualty for our side."

Glancing up the pig-tailed girl stared at the sunglasses wearing man, "Love… I heard about Rose I'm…"

The man waved her off, hiding his own bloodshot eyes behind his glasses was quite the convenience for the man.

"War always has death on both sides Hiyori, you know this."

The young Shinigami nodded again, "but why did it have to be them? Why couldn't they have just stayed with us and not rejoined those jackasses? Why did they have to leave us Love?"

The man stayed silent, before crouching down and pulling his fellow Visored into a hug.

Those same questions had been haunting him ever since he had heard of Rose's demise. Why couldn't the man have simply stayed with him where it was safe? Wasn't he enough? Weren't _they_ enough?

Not for the first time in the last few days did the large man begin feeling much like the young blonde he held onto. A fierce hatred for the Seireitei and the Quincy welling up in his chest and threatening to explode outwards.

Now there was nothing left for them, nothing but vengeance.

 _***RitL***_

"Bout time you lazy assholes woke up, I was getting sick and tired of shuffling you three between pools."

Kenpachi, Rukia, and Renji all slowly sat up, glancing around until their eyes fell upon the tallest member of the Royal Guard.

"So, here's the deal, considering how badly you all got your asses handed to you the Soul King, in his infinite generosity, has agreed to empower you three. Kenpachi will be receiving swordsmanship training until his powers fully awaken, while you two will have your true _Zanpakuto_ unleashed. We might not be part of the Gotei 13 anymore but Squad Zero does have a reputation to maintain, and being associated with you losers isn't helping it any.

Rukia growled at the man, appearing ready to lunge and attack him until her red-haired friend placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

"He has a point, and besides we need as much help as we can get. So, what do we have to do?"

The powerful Shinigami adopted a feral grin, "oh that part is easy. First you heal, then you recover… and then you go meet the 'Sword God' himself…"

Even Kenpachi flinched slightly at the man's tone, promising a very painful future for them.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _But now was not the time for hubris and sloth, the momentum had to be continued as soon as possible to avoid any sort of retaliatory strike. Their next objective had already been chosen, it was time for him to return home._

 _***Omake: The True End***_

The Quincy invasion had begun, explosions occurring across the Seireitei announced their arrival as soldiers poured in through portals created throughout the area.

Luckily none of them appeared to be high powered officers… at least thus far.

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya made his way towards one of the denser mobs, intending on eliminating it quickly before moving on, before he halted. Before him stood a small group of Quincy, obviously just grunt soldiers by their appearance, who stared at him with cocky smiles.

"So, you are the ones invading our home, prepare to fall beneath the blade of the Court Guard!"

At once all ten of the soldier reached forward, and appeared to reach forward and tear off the strange white and blue gloves that they were wearing.

Their spiritual power spiked to near Captain levels… all ten of them.

Before the young genius even had time to activate his own ultimate technique all the enemy soldiers fired enhanced arrows down the corridor at him, utterly annihilating the area and the Captain in the process.

 _***RitL***_

"I must say my son, it is quite the… unorthodox tactic you developed for this war."

"What do you mean father?"

"Giving every soldier a _Sanrei Glove_ and then having them remove it during combat to activate _Letzt Stil_ is…"

"Brilliant beyond words? Logical beyond belief?"

"Unexpected"

The orange haired boy glared halfheartedly before shrugging. "We all saw what happened when that Uryu kid activated it, he almost killed a Captain afterwards. And if he can master it during only a few weeks surely most of our soldiers could during the few years we had to prepare… and now we have an entire army of anti-Captain soldiers."

"That only function during one battle" Jugo pointed out calmly.

"If you completely decimate an enemy during only one battle then what does it matter?"

The other Quincy stared at Ichigo for a moment, before nodding in agreement. Seconds later another explosion shook Soul Society, signaling the end of yet another Captain.

Best of all none of the Sternritter were even forced to engage yet.

***A/N***

So, the first stage of the war is over, and well… casualties are a bit high for Soul Society eh? Sure, the Quincy lost a _lot_ of officers as well but the fact is that those lost by the Seireitei are going to be far more devastating to the war, as you can probably imagine.

As said quite a few times before, I have taken over the war effort on behalf of 'His Majesty'. So, no more pulling punches, no more leaving behind injured officers in the hope of them just conveniently dying, no more stupid team killing. Yhwach had over a _thousand_ years to plan this. There is no way he would leave everything up to fate or luck.

I know this chapter wasn't the best, but quite frankly it needed to happen. I needed a bit of a break from just writing combat and we needed to see what the outcomes of the invasion would have for both sides. Next week will be from the Quincy point of view.

So yeah… it did occur to me while writing this story, why the hell _didn't_ the Quincy utilize this, seemingly all powerful, technique? I mean Uryu effortlessly destroys a Captain with it, and he wasn't terribly powerful at the time. Even if, for some stupid reason, normal soldiers _couldn't_ master it surely the Sternritter could have. Considering they were already at Captain level, and outnumbered their opponents, they could have won the war in like one battle at most.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Ichigo (presumed)

Jugo (presumed)

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Orihime - _deceased_ -

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A

B **The Blade** Jugram

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God - _deceased_ -

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N **The Noise** Xaros

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** \- Clovis

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku

Nanao

Omaeda


	19. Recuperation

**Raised in the Light**

Recuperation

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

Upon their return the Quincy were either sent to the hospital for recovery or ordered to relax and recuperate from the fighting.

Yhwach, after giving the orders, retired to his own chambers to think in private. The invasion had been an overwhelming success, much as he planned it, but that did not mean they had been without casualties. Eight Sternritter had fallen to their enemy, and along with that close to thirty percent of the remaining invasion force. True their losses were insignificant compared to that of the Shinigami, both in terms of numbers and in the quality of officers lost, but it did not make the situation easier to bear.

The Quincy lord let out a deep sigh, allowing weariness to overtake him now that he was alone. They had the undeniable advantage now, but with the enemy reinforcements the war was far from being over. Not only that but they had lost one of their own 'War Enders' in the process, something that _should not_ have occurred.

That only left himself, Ichigo, Jugo, and Mask for their side.

The Shinigami still had Kisuke Urahara, Kenpachi Zaraki, and the Royal Guard themselves. Even more frustrating was the fact that Aizen Sosuke had chosen to ally with the Seireitei as well, although this was the presumed outcome when the plan had originally been made.

Still the most important victory had been won, the battle over morale. With their losses, the Shinigami's confidence would be at an all-time low, while his own soldiers celebrated their triumph.

But now was not the time for hubris and sloth, the momentum had to be continued as soon as possible to avoid any sort of retaliatory strike. Their next objective had already been chosen, it was time for him to return home.

 _***RitL***_

 _***RitL***_

"Thank you all for gathering in this most sacred of places" The Quincy lord called out, sweeping his arms across the area in emphasis. "Normally after a battle we would be having a ceremony to commemorate the fallen as well as celebrate the victorious, but with all of our casualties I feel it is better to have two separate gatherings, one for each."

Again, their king paused, eyes gazing falling across each of them to emphasize their unity and their strength. "We stand here today to pay tribute to those who have given their lives for the future, for peace. Those fallen Quincy, both the common soldier and the Sternritter themselves, volunteered to undertake a great quest with those of us who remain standing. It is with great sorrow that we must depart with them. Their part has been played and now they have earned eternal rest with those who have passed before us. We shall mourn for them, remember them, and honor them along with their sacrifices."

With that the man turned to gaze upon the wall that stood behind him, shimmering with light. It was a large silver construct, upon which the name of every fallen Quincy was inscribed. The effect of the material created a reflective surface.

"When we look upon the names of the fallen we see ourselves in their sacrifice. They gave everything for us and for the future. Never forget this my children."

With that the man gazed on in silence, remembering the face of every Quincy who had died during both the initial attack of the Shinigami, and their own retaliations.

 _***RitL***_

"Sternritter Joli"

"Sternritter Jugram"

The blonde nodded in greeting of the pretty brunette, whose gaze was still sad and in mourning of her friend.

"I heard about Irmine… I am sorry."

The woman nodded, discreetly wiping away the tears that threatened to flow down her face. "She knew the risks, we all did it's just…"

"She was far too young."

Joli nodded, before glancing up at the approaching orange-haired boy, "Sternritter Ichigo"

"You can just call me Ichigo you know… how are you Joli?"

"I am… okay, all considering."

The teenager nodded, and watched as the girl sullenly walked away to attempt to find some sort of comfort. Glancing over Ichigo noticed his brother's eyes still locked on her retreating form, a sorrow deeply etched in them only visible to those who knew him best.

"Well?"

The blonde turned in confusion towards the other man.

"What are you waiting for? Go after her!"

"Brother I do not know…"

"Seriously? Do you really think that Dad or I haven't figured out you two are in a relationship? Despite your beliefs otherwise you do not have a perfect 'poker face' Jugo."

The pale boy nodded slowly, wishing he had just come clean earlier.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"We had… discussed the idea of… she was always so sad and alone and…"

"You two were going to adopt Irmine…"

Jugo nodded slightly, fighting back his own sorrow. It had been Joli's secret wish upon meeting the bright and vibrant young girl to give her the family she never had, and he had been completely supportive of the idea. But now that dream was ruined.

"Does she make you happy?"

The blonde nodded to his brother.

"And you make her happy?"

"I like to think so yes."

"Then go comfort her… don't give up the time you have together because of your fears about other opinions. Trust me on this Jugo, life can end when you least expect it."

The teenager nodded, before setting off after his companion.

Ichigo merely sighed, before heading towards his own room to sort through his chaotic thoughts about all that had transpired.

 _***RitL***_

"Master! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Can I help? Did we win?"

Ichigo fought back against the groan forming on his lips as the questions began by his green haired 'companion'.

"I am fine, we won but not without losses."

"You should have allowed us to join you master. The Shinigami would not have been expecting us and it could have saved lives."

"I know Harribel, but father was insistent that you two stayed behind. He wanted your entry into this war to be a complete surprise and believes that you will have a far greater impact in the coming battles."

The pale woman frowned, before flopping down on the couch with a pout. The other Arrancar merely nodded in acceptance, before sitting down as well.

"Shall I prepare a bath for you master? You seem tense and…"

"Don't worry about that Harribel, I will be taking over 'bath duties' today."

All three looked up to the door, where Bambietta stood.

The two former Espada nodded disappointingly and left the room.

"Bambietta I…"

"We could both use some relaxation after everything that has happened. I heard that you… encountered your family. If you would like to talk about it…"

"Later, right now I think a nice relaxing soak is just what I need."

The black-haired girl grinned, "and maybe after that we can just spend some time together in _another_ fashion?"

The teenager blushed, and nodded slightly, fighting back against the obvious reaction his body was having at the innuendo.

 _***RitL***_

"Alright Kort pay up"

"Aw come on that was such a bullshit bet"

"Not listening don't care, all I hear is the sweet jingle of all the money you owe me."

The stoic Quincy sighed, before fishing out a large handful of coins for his fellow Sternritter. "Fine here, what the hell are you going to spend it on anyway Xaros?"

"Me? I'm going to take a vacation, see the beach, drink some fruity overpriced alcohol, and probably get laid."

"Whatever, I hope you choke on it… ass…"

"Oh come now don't be such a sore loser, just because I won the bet of which when Bazz-B was going to get his dumbass killed and by who doesn't mean you have to be upset about it."

"We both _knew_ he would do something stupid during the first invasion, but how the hell could you have guessed it would be the old man to do it?"

The sound wielding Sternritter just shrugged as he added the money to his growing coin stack, "call it a hunch."

As he turned to leave the Quincy pulled out a small list of the bets that he had to collect. He was, after all, in the business of betting on the fates of his fellow Quincy… and business was booming.

 _***RitL***_

After the others had left Joli had stayed behind, staring at the name of the child that had gone into battle with them.

"I miss her too."

The woman nodded, seeing her lover's reflection standing behind her.

"Why didn't we just adopt her when we had the chance? Why didn't we…"

"War changes many things my love you know this. I wish it did not have to be this way, that this wall would be blank rather than covered in names but… it is not."

The brunette nodded, allowing the tears to fall from her eyes. "I miss her so much. I wonder if she realizes how much I thought of her as a daughter… how much I…"

"I am sure she knew that we loved her. She would always have that sparkle in her eyes when we were around. Apparently, it was not there normally."

Again, Joli nodded before turning back to the blonde man behind her.

"When this is all over I would like to start a family with you. We have wasted too much time on hatred and conflict."

"I agree"

"Which means you are _not_ allowed to get hurt. If something were to happen to you I…"

"I know, the same applies you as well my **Freedom**."

The two Quincy settled into a warm embrace, enjoying each others' company like they had so often done in the past.

 _***RitL***_

"What is the plan now father?"

Yhwach allowed a small smile to form on his face as he glanced up at his two sons and his closest adviser, all the remaining Quincy War Enders.

"Now that the Seireitei has been brought low and humbled they will undoubtedly contact all of their remaining allies to try and recuperate. Not only this but without their most skilled healer The Royal Guard will be forced to intervene to save the lives of their most seriously injured, as well as undoubtedly empower them further for the war."

"Sounds like we should have focused more on removing the other Captains before we left then dad, why did you insist on us staying with you?"

"Simple Ichigo, on the off chance that Squad Zero _did_ decide to intervene I needed you both at my side to deal with them. Despite this annoying turn of events we will still emerge victorious, all we need to do is wait until they rejoin their comrades and then strike. There is no doubt that the Seireitei will be reinforced at this point, which would make our efforts considerably more difficult if we were to assault them again. So instead we shall follow one of the oldest principles of war 'to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak'. The Royal Guard has always deemed themselves above even the other Captains. They will not expect an attack against _themselves_."

"But how will we accomplish this now that Orlan is dead? I thought his ability was the key to this your majesty?"

"Indeed it was Mask, but that is one of the reasons why we attacked Hueco Mundo first. Using the raw energy we obtained we shall punch a hole through the barriers that exist around the Royal Palace. Then we shall remove the butchers themselves."

"And then? Do you intend to go through with the plan father?"

The elder Quincy glanced over towards Jugo, knowing exactly what his son meant by his question. If it had been anyone else they would have been reprimanded for making such an insinuation but his two sons knew how much emphasis the man put on family. The idea of someone striking down their own father was…

"Yes, that _monster_ has existed for far too long. His influence has been the source of too much misery and despair. He shall be removed once and for all."

 _***RitL***_

"I-I-ICHIGO!" The black-haired woman cried out in ecstasy as she fell forward onto the man she was currently on top of. After allowing the other several moments of time to gather their breath the two lovers shared a passionate kiss before Bambietta slowly rolled off of the orange-haired teen and curled up next to him, basking in the afterglow that they now shared.

"That was..."

"Wow" the female Quincy agreed, suppressing the urge to giggle. Bambietta did _not_ giggle after all.

Several moments of comfortable silence, filled with gasps of air, followed while their two hearts slowed down and synced in rhythm with each other.

"Are you... okay? I didn't hurt you did I?"

The 'V' rolled her eyes, of course he would assume something like that even after such a... session. "No Ichigo you did not hurt me. Heck if you wanted to you probably could be a bit rougher next time."

The sultry grin that the greeted him stirred something deep inside his body once more, but he suppressed it for the time being.

The woman noticed a change in him though, and a slight fear formed in her mind, "do you... regret this?"

"What? Of course not, It's just..."

"Vanda again?"

"No... no not this time. I guess I am just concerned that we rushed into this because of what is going on... the war and everything."

Internally the female Quincy gave a sigh of relief, silently glad that his guilt over his former love was not influencing him as much as it used to be. "I don't think you should be worried too much about that Ichigo. I believe that the war just showed us that we can't afford to waste time, that every moment is precious."

This time the boy returned a warm smile, before running his fingertips across her bare back, sending pleasant tingles down her spine once more.

"I guess we shouldn't waste any more time talking then huh?" the orange-haired Quincy inquired with a smirk as his companion returned the expression and rolled onto her back to allow him the dominant position for their next round.

 _***RitL***_

For the first time in many years the Quincy known as 'Mask' found himself to be... distracted. Sure he put forth the strange attitude and personality, but his mind simply worked that way. Regardless of his exterior actions, his thoughts were always clear and concise, focused on a singular goal and unwavering in their progress.

But now... with the eve of their success so close, with his vengeance so near...

The large Quincy's body shivered in anticipation. His single reason for continuing on was within grasp.

'The Divine General of the East', 'The Hot Spring Demon', Tenjiro Kirinji. A key member of the Royal Guard, and one of the original thirteen Captains. The man who had slaughtered his children before his very eyes.

If ever their truly was a man deserving of torture and death it was him. A sadistic butcher whose 'contribution' to Soul Society was the creation of medical _Kido_ , though few realized that the true purpose of it's original inception was to prolong his victim's suffering.

Mask's dreams had been of nothing but vengeance upon this man for nearly a thousand years. A thousand years and he had killed the man in ten thousand ways, each more gruesome than the last.

His thoughts now were that as the moment of his true justice was so close... how would he choose to end the man's life? Would it be a slow and painful mutilation, a dissection which seemed so fitting to the self proclaimed 'original doctor' of the Shinigami? Or would it be a fate similar to that which his own family suffered, a slow and horrific drowning in water that would melt the flesh off of bone and slowly dissolve the remainder of the body until it was impossible to discern the original liquid from its victim.

In the background Mask idly noted that his faithful companion, a boy he had come to think of as his adopted son, was going over the recent report of their project with him.

He snapped back to reality, putting his vengeance in the furthest corners of his mind once more. There would be time for those distractions later, when their victory was assured. For now though he needed to focus. With the operation so close to beginning he had to ensure that everything was perfect. They were too close to allow for failure now.

 _***RitL***_

"So Harribel"

"Yes Nel?"

"What do you think… I mean what's going to happen after… well all this is over?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well master and Bambietta are obviously… well you know, and after the Shinigami are gone what do you think will happen to us?"

The dark skinned Arrancar glanced up at her obviously nervous teammate, before going over the question herself. Sure, she had thought it over briefly before, but usually had dismissed it as not being relevant at the time. But now that it had been brought up by her companion…

"I don't really know Nel. I don't think master will let them kill us after the war is over. Despite his claims of hating our kind he seems to be rather… fond of us."

"Probably helps that we are barely clothed most of the time" the green haired woman giggled.

The blonde herself smiled at a past memory, Ichigo had been rather depressed one day after thinking about his lost love and the two former Espada had picked up on his depression. They had silently agreed to help… cheer him up…

That was why when he entered his personal quarters after a rather harsh training session, and was met by two _completely naked_ women he had promptly blushed up a storm and did his best to hide the blood that leaked from his nose.

After a solid five minutes of sputtering, until he had finally regained enough use of his brain to turn and leave the room, he had called out from the doorway a warm 'thank you', realizing that the two had done it just to cheer him up.

Well that and they had been intending on jumping the poor boy, but just the 'show' had worked too.

"I wonder if…"

Harribel was brought out of her thoughts by the pale skinned woman's ponderings.

"Yes Nel?"

"If Quincy and Arrancar can have children together…"

Somewhere Ichigo immediately began a coughing fit, but couldn't quite figure out why.

 _***RitL***_

"I ran into my sisters and my father during the invasion, at the very end."

Bambietta's head shot up from its comfortable resting place on the man's bare chest, sure she had offered to talk with him about what had occurred but… well her lover did tend to keep things bottled up. She was not expecting him to be so forthcoming this easily.

"They were only a year or so old at most when I left… they are so different then what I always imagined they would be."

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know… more like me maybe? Or happier and more carefree? I expected them to at least not be completely shocked when they found out about…"

The boy fell silent, leaving Bambietta to fill in the blanks. "They didn't know about the balance? I figured they wouldn't I don't think hardly any of the Shinigami knew."

"They didn't know about me"

That statement brought a gasp from the black-haired beauty.

"Apparently my father had never seen fit to tell them... I mean I guess I understand if he couldn't find me and didn't want to give them something to obsess over but..."

"He was wrong. Family is more important than anything else Ichigo and you know that. He _should_ have told them."

The boy nodded, before staring back up at the ceiling.

"Can I ask you for a favor?"

Bambietta sat up, "of course... what is it?"

"In the upcoming battles they will probably be on the Shinigami's side... could you..."

"Make sure they survive and are safe? Of course Ichigo."

He smiled, causing her to blush again.

"Of course you know that means you owe me one... lover..."

"What ever could I do to repay you... hmm..." Ichigo mused, as he began planting kisses down her torso... getting ever lower on her body and eliciting a gasp of pleasure from the woman.

 _***RitL***_

"Now my Sternritter we shall once more take the step towards our victory. This day we shall remove the unnatural plague that has dominated our world for so long, join with me my friends, my brothers and sisters, my children and let us cleanse all of the worlds."

With a slight nod the masked Quincy flipped a switch, activating a massive spire which fired a brilliant beam of light into the sky.

"Now I ask you to once more take the leap of faith with me."

The Quincy lord strode forth, stepping into a nearby portal, followed closely by the other Quincy and two Arrancar.

What followed was a strange stretching sensation, as if they were being sucked through a straw made of warm liquid.

Moments later the officers arrived in front of a massive gate covered in the finest of decorations and made of some unknown bronze material.

"The gate to the Royal Palace can only be unlocked by those who bear the _Oken_. A mystical key imparted by the Soul King to his closest and most loyal servants. What Squad Zero failed to realize is that I too bear the ability to bestow this gift, and wield it myself."

Yhwach walked up to the heavenly barrier, before reaching forth and placing his hand onto what appeared to be a small keyhole.

A few seconds later the gate creaked and groaned, before opening wide to the Quincy.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _The orange haired boy walked forward, until he was several feet in front of the remaining Sternritter._

 _Suddenly Bambietta realized that no one else was moving forward to aid her lover, and she took a step forward, only to be blocked by the blonde man's arm. "That is far enough Bambietta, do not interfere with this fight."_

" _Jugram… are you insane!?" the woman hissed out. "They are the Royal Guard, they are stronger than more than the bastards we just got done almost killing… and you want to send him out there… alone!?"_

" _He will be fine…"_

 _***Omake: Meeting of the Brawn***_

Mask de Masculine sulked through the endless halls of the Quincy castle. Normally Mask did not sulk, in fact he could barely remember the last time he had, in fact, sulked.

But now he was sulking like no one had ever sulked before, the reason you might ask? Simple, a lack of excitement.

Sure he had defeated the 'man who bore too much makeup' easily, and it _had_ been a challenge of the minds but… it had been so very disappointing.

Where was the challenge, the adrenaline, the excitement? Where was the competition that could truly make him break a sweat, an opponent who could match him blow for blow not only with wits but with strength of body as well.

The Quincy was certain that if had really 'cut loose' then the former Captain would have been paste on the walls after the first strike.

Truly disappointing.

So what now? Would he forever be denied a true challenge? Would there be no one who could ever…

As the masked man turned the corner he froze, and secretly pondered if he too had been somehow given the powers of the _Hogyoku_. Before him stood three men of such caliper and ability that the world seemed to quiver a bit at the meeting.

Might Gai, greatest Taijutsu master of all time, whose skill was only rivaled by the zealotry of his challenges and the green of his spandex.

Isshin Shiba, a man whose middle finger could toss a grown man through a hundred buildings and whose hugs were the thing that children's nightmares were made of.

And Alex Louis Armstrong the 'Strong Arm Alchemist', a man with such breathtaking physique that he could turn night into day simply by flexing his biceps.

Any of these three could be a worthy match for him, but to have all gathered in the same place…

"OH HO! IT APPEARS AS THOUGH A CHALLENGE HAS BEEN SET FORTH!"

"INDEED GOOD SIR, I SHALL SHOW YOU THE STRENGTH OF THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY!"

"I PURPOSE A KUROSAKI FAMILY CHALLENGE! RUNNING ON ONE'S HANDS BACKWARDS UP A WALL!"

"YOSH, AND IF I CANNOT COMPLETE THIS TASK I SHALL DO ONE THOUSAND SITUPS ON AN ACTIVE VOLCANO!"

The force of these four men, these titans of muscle was too much for reality to bear, promptly causing tremors and cracks in the very fabric of existence.

The Earth shook, mountains collapsed, seas boiled, Sasuke giggled like a school girl, Yhwach spilled his tea, and Edward Elric became normal sized.

Moments later Ichigo flashed into the room, his eyes wide in terror, "YOU FOOLS! YOU'VE DISRUPTED THE NATURAL ORDER…"

Then all of creation was blinked out of existence.

The balance had been disrupted and then destroyed, along with the universe itself.

The author was forced to take a step back from the computer, staring wide eyed at the words that had simply appeared on the screen.

"Huh… so that just happened…"

***A/N***

So, I didn't really think about giving Jugo a relationship until like last chapter but I really do like the idea. Now I wish I had thought of this beforehand and incorporated it into all the chapters rather than just abruptly starting it now. Perhaps if I ever go back through and make edits I will include this.

As for Tenjiro's slight change from canon... so the way I understand it all of the Royal Gaurd "invented" something that was crucial to the Shinigami correct? Zanpakuto make sense, and if Shutara created their robes that also seems fairly important. But the other three? Names, those stupid soul pills, and... water? I don't really get the names thing, the food/pills seem utterly worthless to anyone but Ichigo, and maybe Rukia, and the water is never used except by Kisuke who copies it. So why the hell is Tenjiro even there? Instead I changed it to him inventing Healing Kido, since we know he trained Unohana. It seems like a far more important creation that some really hot water that only exists in one place anyway.

Originally Mask was just going to be a sort of throw away goofball character that was fun to mess around with... until I began developing him into what he is now. I truly do enjoy how this character ended up, even without me realizing it. For him to go from a one-dimensional humor side character to a dark and brooding vengeance filled scientist with a sadistic streak, something that I myself could imagine becoming should the same events befall me, is incredibly fun to write.

 **So, we are down to only one more 'unknown' Sternritter… anyone want to take bets on who it will be and what the letter will stand for? I'm sure the first question is easy enough but the second…**

As for the Omake… well blame all my readers who kept suggesting Alex Armstrong be put into the story… that's right, you did this.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Yhwach

Ichigo

Jugo

Mask

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orihime - _deceased_ -

The Royal Guard

Aizen Sosuke

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A

B **The Blade** Jugram

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F **The Freedom** Joli

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God - _deceased_ -

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N **The Noise** Xaros

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** \- Clovis

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku

Nanao

Omaeda


	20. Eleven Seconds

**Raised in the Light**

Eleven Seconds

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"Well it looks like you three have completed your training and in record time I might add!"

"Yeah, almost seems like there should have been _more_ than just three of us up here…" Renji grumbled in response to the leader of the Royal Guard's forces.

His comment earned him an elbow, courtesy of the female of their group, while Kenpachi merely smirked.

"Now that your potential has been unlocked you will be sent back down to Soul Society to help determine the fate of the war. Keep in mind that you three now bear the pride of the Royal Guard, so try not to die." The last part of the monk's statement was said with a large, and rather creepy, smile.

"Uh yeah so… how do we get back anyway? I mean are we going to use your transport pod or just fly down all badass style or…"

"Nope teleportation"

Three jaws dropped.

"Y-y-you can teleport!? WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU DO SO WHEN WE WERE BEING INVADED!"

"Wasn't our fight" the tallest man replied, picking at his ear in boredom.

"Wasn't your fight? WASN'T YOUR FIGHT!? MY FRIENDS DIED DOWN THERE YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHERE DO YOU GET OFF…"

Any future rants from the young Kuchiki were interrupted when the Sword God snapped his fingers, instantly vanishing the three Shinigami back down to the Seireitei. "Girl's got to learn to relax yo, aint good fo yo skin to be so uptight, am I right?"

 _***RitL***_

"Ah Kenpachi, Rukia, and Renji. I am glad to see you have returned. I trust your training went well?"

"THOSE ARROGANT SONS OF A WHORE!"

"I take that as a yes." Shunsui replied with a jovial smile in response to Rukia's continued rage.

"I SWEAR IF IT IS THE LAST THING I DO I WILL SHOVE AN ICICLE SO FAR UP THAT GRINNING DOUCHEBAG'S…"

"Yes yes he is quite the douche. But that is irrelevant right now we have far more pressing concerns. Our defenses are currently under construction and we are going over battle orders now that everyone has recovered. It would be most helpful if you would join us."

"Rukia, contain your anger. We have tasks to perform."

"B-b-but brother!"

"Enough, you now represent the remaining Captains as well as the Royal Guard. I expect you to do this with pride and respect."

"Yes… yes of course brother. My apologies Captain General-Sama I shall do better in the future to contain my outbursts."

"Quite alright, well then if you would follow me into the chambers, we have much to discuss."

 _***RitL***_

Hours later the five members of Squad Zero were alerted to a rather… surprising event, the gates to the Royal Realm opening and revealing Yhwach and a Quincy force behind him.

"Ah so good to be back home again. Glad to see that father has kept everything relatively the same, that being completely unnecessary and gaudy."

"Y-Yhwach!? How dare you set foot upon this holy land!"

"Ah the great 'General of the East' opens his mouth to speak, such a poor habit of yours I'm afraid. You see before any of you even _knew_ about this city… I lived here, which means that you are the trespassers."

"I do not know how you were able to replicate the _Oken_ Yhwach, but I assure you it will not save you now. You were foolish to come here." Shutara called out, already sending forth her summons to the soldiers she had created over the years.

"You still do not understand, do you? Such stupidity is quite unbecoming of you. The _Oken_ is the blood and bones of the Soul King himself, and since I am his son I bear the same bloodline. Which means that I possess the key just as he does."

"It does not matter how you were able to come here traitor. All that matters is that you have invited your death. The five of us are more powerful than all the Gotei 13 combined. You have no chance of victory."

The Quincy lord turned to face the monk, one of his last few obstacles in this war, "That is where you are wrong, Ichigo my son… deal with them if you will."

"Of course, father."

 _***RitL***_

The orange haired boy walked forward, until he was several feet in front of the remaining Sternritter.

Suddenly Bambietta realized that no one else was moving forward to aid her lover, and she took a step forward, only to be blocked by the blonde man's arm. "That is far enough Bambietta, do not interfere with this fight."

"Jugram… are you _insane_!?" the woman hissed out. "They are the _Royal Guard_ , they are stronger than more than the bastards we just got done almost killing… and you want to send him out there… alone!?"

"He will be fine…"

 _***RitL***_

"KISUKE WHAT THE HELL IS THAT NOISE!?" Yoruichi shouted, trying to be heard over the blaring of various alarms.

"Well you see my dear Neko those are the various sensors that were created should anything attempt to invade the Royal Realm through the barriers that were set in place to..."

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for some, Urahara's explanation was completely drowned out by the deafening noise. This meant it looked like the blonde was giving a lecture to himself rather than anyone else.

Finally Shinsui had located the deactivation switch, thereby ending the blasting sound.

"... and that is why spiritual candy dispensers only come in thirteen different shapes."

The various Shinigami blinked in confusion, before turning their attention elsewhere and ignoring the man once again.

"So does anyone _else_ know what those alarms were for?" the white haired genius inquired.

This time it was the new Captain Commander who answered, "Ah those would be the warning alarms for the Royal Palace, which means the Quincy have somehow breached through the barriers protecting it."

"How very interesting... I wonder how they accomplished such a thing. When we go to 'assist' our allies I must make a note to ask Yhwach as I am tearing him apart." Aizen noted with a sickening smile.

"No offense Shunsui-Sama but I don't think Aizen should be part of our 'rescue group'. Not that I think we will actually need one but... well quite frankly he is an asshole."

"Agreed, but we also did not believe the Quincy posed any serious threat to the Seireitei either, and look how that turned out. Regardless of our beliefs we need to come up with a plan to lend our assistance."

Those gathered nodded, before glancing over to Kisuke, who looked around, trying to find someone else to give the task to.

A few moments passed before the dark-skinned woman growled in aggravation, "Damnit Kisuke he means you! Now hop to it!"

"But Yoruichi-channnnnn"

"HOP TO IT!"

"So mean to me..."

 _***RitL***_

"Bambietta… do you know what letter Ichigo was assigned?"

The black-haired woman glanced over the Jugo, who was busy watching his brother walk towards the five most powerful Shinigami in existence.

"I know he is the 'A' but I don't know what it stands for."

"Understandable, not many do. As far as I am aware only Mask, Father, Ichigo, and myself do. He isn't very proud of it."

"Why not? Surely it isn't _that_ bad."

"No it is… different. You know that all of the Sternritter have the ability to activate their unique gifts at any given time correct? That it is merely an extension of ourselves?"

"Yeah of course."

"Ichigo is… different in that regards. His gift is both the greatest and the weakest of all."

"How can it be both? What are you talking about?"

"His ability is unlike any other, you see it only can be activated for eleven seconds, and afterwards it takes days to 'recharge'."

Bambietta looked towards the blonde man, curiosity filling her eyes, "If that's the case I wouldn't say it is the strongest at all…"

"True… but it is what _happens_ during those moments that matter… for you see during that time Ichigo becomes… something else."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Watch"

 _***RitL***_

"Yhwach must be going senile in his old age, sending one child against us five? Hell, this won't even be a warm up." The 'Hot spring demon' chuckled.

"True dat, mans gone wack. Well better finish this up and move on up."

The master swordsman drew his greatest work of art from the container of gel he kept with him, before assuming an aggressive stance.

"My name is Ichigo, the letter bestowed upon me by my father when I was a child is 'A' for the **Ascension** …"

As soon as the words left him mouth Oetsu Nimaiya had crossed the battlefield, his blade already mere inches from beheading his opponent.

That is before Ichigo was no longer standing before him, instead there was something… else.

A being of fire replaced the boy, a creature that was not of this world or any other. An ascended presence that seemed roughly humanoid in shape, but otherwise was completely different than all which had come before it.

One second

The blade connected less than a second later, and the 'Sword God' finished his sweep, only to find that his 'perfect blade' had been burned down to a mere stump, almost as if he had tried to cut Yamamoto's _Bankai_.

Ichigo, or whatever had replaced him, retaliated by swiping a limb through the Shinigami, burning him in half at the torso and instantly ending his life.

Two seconds

Tenjiro swung his weapon, preparing to create a wave of water that would kill the… thing…

Three seconds

That is until he was impaled from behind, somehow its speed had easily trumped his own to a point where he hadn't even caught the movement.

Where he had been pierced a fire spread, slowly consuming him from the center of his torso.

Four seconds

Waves of cloth soldiers charged forth, summoned to defend their mistress.

They were incinerated instantly, without a gesture, without any sort of projectile or attack. It was as if they could not stand in the presence of their target.

Five seconds

A beam of fire shot forth, interrupting the Kido that Senjumara Shutara had begun. It pierced through her as she then caught fire, burning alive while crying out in agony.

Six seconds

Massive root tore up through the ground, encircling what used to be Ichigo to try and contain him. A creation of Kirio Hikifune that had been made in secret should they truly be invaded.

Seven seconds

The roots burned instantly, evaporating away as if it were paper exposed to a roaring inferno, revealing the creature once more.

Eight seconds

In an instance the being of flame was next to the woman, before reaching out and effortlessly tearing her head from her shoulders.

Nine seconds

Black ink flowed forth covering the creature as Ichibe activated his Bankai and hastily drew the symbol for "bug" onto it.

This would remove whatever type of powers the boy had received, then the monk merely needed to find a way to revive his fellow Captains and destroy the interlopers.

Ten seconds

The ink vaporized, revealing the entity to be unaffected.

Reaching out, Ichigo placed two hands upon the monk's face, sending forth fire into his very soul and burning him alive from the inside out.

Hyosube's eyes glowed red, as light poured forth from the blaze contained within, before he fell forward lifelessly.

Eleven seconds

The figure turned back, as if glancing at those who, all save three, were staring wide eyed and slack jawed at the massacre that had just taken place

Then it disappeared in a flicker of flames.

Twelve seconds

An eerie silence fell over the battlefield

Thirteen seconds

Yhwach frowned, before an unease settled over him.

Fourteen seconds

Jugo broke out in a nervous sweat, his brother wasn't there… and he was well beyond his 'time limit'.

Fifteen seconds

"I-I-ICHIGO!" Bambietta shouted out hysterically.

 _***RitL***_

Bambietta had done as the blonde had suggested, watching every movement, waiting for any indication of this… alternate form of her lover.

First the five assholes had begun underestimating and ridiculing him, then Ichigo had gone and announced himself… only for the blade master to appear next to him.

How the man had crossed the battlefield so quickly Bambietta couldn't understand, all she knew was that the man she had fallen in love with was about to be beheaded and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

That is until Ichigo had become that… thing.

A creature of fire and power, of flame and fury, something not of this world nor any others. It bore no spiritual signature, hell it didn't even radiate spiritual pressure, but it's presence was undeniable.

It was alien, an anathema that should not exist in the world that they occupied. It was the cross between a divine being and a monster from the darkest corner of hell.

In an instance the Shinigami, whom she was sure could have taken down at least half the Sternritter by himself, was bifurcated.

Before she could even realize what had happened 'Ichigo' had appeared behind the tallest of their, now four, opponents and impaled him with his arm.

She blinked, thus missing the hundreds of soldiers that had been summoned, and incinerated an instance later.

The thin woman fell next, burnt alive by a beam of pure energy. Her screams would undoubtedly keep the Sternritter up for nights to come, they were cries of agony, of fear and pain, of terror at not understanding what was happening and being unable to express it in any other fashion.

Whatever the tree roots were meant to do failed gloriously as they too went up in flames, followed by the remaining female's beheading.

The only one standing was the monk, the one they all knew was the leader of the Royal Guard and adviser to the Soul King himself.

The one that was not to be underestimated.

Ink as dark as the deepest shadows burned away in a brilliant light, foiling whatever attempt the man had made to harm her beloved.

Before the bald man could retaliate further he too burned, and if it was any indication his end was quite painful.

Eleven seconds

It had taken only eleven seconds for the most important man in her life to kill the five most powerful Shinigami in existence. Only eleven short moments for him to remove well over half of the enemy's remaining strength.

All without outside aid or interference.

She truly understood why his brother had claimed it to be the most powerful of all abilities, it was capable of winning wars by itself.

Then the unexpected had happened, Ichigo glanced back at them and then vanished into nothingness. Seconds ticked by, although they felt like an eternity, until she realized something was horrifically wrong. What had happened? Why had he gone over his limit? Had something gone wrong? Had that last gesture from Squad Zero done something to him?

She screamed out in terror, "I-I-ICHIGO!"

 _***RitL***_

Silence permeated the area for a few more moments before what sounded like a slight crackling drew attention to Ichigo, in his normal state, burning into existence on his knees. Even stranger was the fact that he appeared to be carrying an object in his arms.

Jugo and his father were by his side in an instance, with Mask and Bambietta following moments later.

"Brother! Are you…"

Staring down they saw what he had apparently retrieved.

A young girl who appeared to be sleeping peacefully in his arms, a former Sternritter who had passed away during the invasion, Irmine.

"I'm sorry father… I can never do that again."

With that the boy lost consciousness, and fell forward, caught by those who cared about him most, while Mask took the young girl and verified that she was, amazingly, alive.

 _***RitL***_

"Father what are we going to do next?"

The lord of the Quincy looked down to the young man who lay in his arms and he was brought back to years earlier, when the orange haired Quincy was just a child. Memories of a time when he would go out and carry his son in after an exhausting day of training, even back then Ichigo didn't really understand the concept of 'taking it slow' and thus often worked himself to the point of passing out.

"We will take your brother to one of my old rooms for him to recover. I wish to speak with him before we continue on."

"I understand father but… what about the Soul King?"

"He is far too proud to leave his palace to come after us. He knows that I am coming for him so he would rather sit on his throne and wait. The Shinigami below will most likely be alerted but with the barriers still in place there is little they can do to reach us yet. I estimate it will take them at least several days for them to devise a strategy to break through."

"I thought that they would be prevented from doing so, after all…"

"Normally yes, but since we have already weakened the walls and killed the Royal Guard then they will have an easier time. Fear not my son, we will be ready for them. Have the others begin setting up our defenses for their arrival."

"Of course, father"

With that the black-haired man turned and departed, he would later be followed by those who cared most about the teenage hero.

 _***RitL***_

"Ughhhh I guess this is my punishment for being too awesome." Ichigo groaned as he slowly sat up in the incredibly comfortable bed he found himself in.

"Quite right my son, I must say that even I did not expect such an outcome."

Turning the boy noted his father sitting in the corner on a rather antique chair.

"Father I… I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"I… I cannot use my ability again. I went far over the time limit and… if I use it again I cannot return."

The man nodded sadly, before a strange look of pride appeared on his face, "well then I am glad your last time was as glorious as we could have ever expected. Not only did you remove the Royal Guard from existence but you returned an innocent life to this world. I cannot begin to explain how proud I am of you."

The teenager grinned with slight embarrassment, "so what now father? Are we going to rest up for a bit and then take on the Soul King? If you give me a few hours I should be able to…"

"Continue resting as you should. I will handle my father alone. You have done more than your share for this war my son. If I thought it possible I would allow you to rest for the remainder of the conflict and not worry yourself further."

"Too bad he is too stubborn to do so."

The two Quincy glanced towards the blonde who had just walked into the room, "father your orders have been given, if I may request a few moments alone with my brother please?"

Yhwach nodded, before standing and striding over to give his son a hug once more. "I am proud of you Ichigo, both of you. Rest now, you have more than earned it."

With that the man left the room, closing the door to give his two sons their privacy.

 _***RitL***_

"Brother"

"Jugo"

The blonde seemed almost… uncomfortable for a moment before he moved forward and pulled the orange haired boy into a strong hug.

"Thank you"

Ichigo smiled, and returned the brotherly embrace before the other took a step back.

"You are welcome, I know how much she meant to you two."

"We are… planning on adopting her if… well if we both survive."

"You will"

"It is war brother, you cannot anticipate…"

"I am _telling_ you that you will both survive even if I have to fight all of the remaining battles myself."

Jugo's eyes narrowed as he caught onto the implication, "If you think that you are going to sacrifice yourself to protect myself or Joli… I will just tell Bambietta _exactly_ what your plan is and let her decide what to do."

Ichigo paled

Jugram smirked

"Y-you wouldn't… brother dearest please, have mercy… you don't know what she is capable of!"

"Oh I am quite aware, my own lover has _thoroughly_ warned me what would befall if I attempted to keep her out of the battle 'for her own good'. Needless to say, I take pity on the one who ends up facing her."

Again the bedridden teen fell silent, before he became deathly serious once more, "you know who she is going to go up against… right?"

"I am aware"

Although he had sounded calm and confident, Ichigo knew his brother far too well not to hear the underlying worry in his tone.

"She will be fine Jugo, she isn't going to do this alone."

"I know"

"She is stronger than you realize, she is a Sternritter, and she will emerge victorious."

"I know"

"It's still scary as all hell though… I know who Bambietta might end up fighting and…"

"I know"

 _***RitL***_

"What is it like?"

Ichigo looked up to see his lover standing at the doorway to his room, looking around awkwardly.

"I don't think that I understand..."

"Really Ichigo? After all we have been through are you going to try and pull the 'I don't know what you are talking about' card with me?"

The teen nervously scratched his head, before answering her. "No I suppose not, it's just not something that is easy to describe."

He paused for a moment before continuing on, "it is... becoming something else, not just _someone_ else but a different being entirely. When I am like that I perceive the world differently, as if I no longer see, touch, smell, feel, or hear. Instead I simply am... _aware_ of everything. All things are laid out before me in a way that I cannot describe, and yet they are there. Then there is the fact that I no longer exist in the normal sense. I am no longer Ichigo, instead I am... something that has never been. An entity that cannot and should not be in this realm of creation. I lose track of who I am, forgetting what I once was. That is why I could only stay that way for a short amount of time. Any longer and I wasn't sure I could remember enough to force myself to return to this state... I wasn't sure if I would still be _me_ afterwards."

"And yet you went past your limit, all for your brother and Joli."

They allowed a silence to fill the room for a few moments.

"Yes I did, she didn't deserve to die there Bambietta, she deserves a chance to live in peace, they all do."

"So do you."

Ichigo gave her a warm smile, before they fell into a comfortable silence once more.

 _***RitL***_

She had to calm down, to get her emotions under control… otherwise she was going to jump and mount the boy next time they were in a room together. She wasn't sure how the collar, that currently ensured her obedience, would view rough sex and whether it would be consider an 'attack' against him or not.

Regardless though…

Nel gave a deep sigh, trying to relax and control her growing emotions towards the man she called 'master'.

The green haired beauty knew very well how powerful those five Shinigami had been. The slight glance she had spared towards Harribel before the 'conflict' had verified that she too had felt their strength.

Even one of them had made Aizen seem weak in comparison. So, when their master strode forth by himself to face down all _five_ of them at the same time… needless to say that she was close to giving Yhwach the finger and leaping to help, or at least die with, the orange haired man.

Then _it_ had happened. He had transformed into something that she had never laid eyes on, something she could not understand. It was not a being of power or strength, that much was clear since it seemed to lack spiritual energy, but it was mighty. It was a God sent from a realm she could not comprehend, a being whose purpose was bringing down divine punishment on those who dared to stand before it.

Although it seemed to have no power… it was powerful beyond comprehension.

Never before had she witnessed such… dominance, such sheer overwhelming might that her Hollow instincts practically purred in lust. There was no victory against him, that much was clear.

When they had first pledged their loyalty Nel admitted to herself that there was a slight doubt in her mind. Ichigo seemed to obey his father, which would imply that the man was even more powerful.

But now… now there was no doubt in her mind of his place at the top of the 'food chain'. He was an alpha… _the alpha_ which all would bow before. She did not believe even for a moment that his claim to not being able to use the technique again limited him. Both Harribel and herself had witnessed the transformed _Vollstandig_ of a Quincy… which meant that he too bore this power.

Just how strong was Ichigo?

Once again, her hormones and instincts screamed out at her to find the boy and show him exactly where her place was, by his side and in his bed for all time.

If the glazed look that the other Arrancar currently had in her eyes was any indication, she agreed one hundred percent as well.

 _***RitL***_

Yhwach strolled through the halls that he had wandered so many centuries ago as a child, remembering each hiding spot he would pretend to use, each statue that had served as a 'friend' when he was lonely, every locked door and secret passage that he tried to discover.

Letting out a deep sigh the Quincy lord reached his destination, a pair of massive golden doors ornately carved with hundreds of symbols.

With a push the gateway swung open, revealing a beautiful throne room, and the _creature_ that sat upon the chair.

" _Ah I see you have found your way back here my son._ "

"Indeed, although it hasn't changed much from when I last left."

" _The world is not meant to change, the truths that held it together a thousand years ago are just as important now, and just as unchanging. You failed then, and you shall fail now._ "

"Let us put that to the test and end this conflict, once and for all."

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _The Soul King, self-declared God of all things and master of creation, stood across the large throne room across from his son Yhwach._

 _The child who was supposed to have further cemented his hold on the worlds, but instead refused his gifts and orders. Instead the child had rebelled, broke allegiances, and defied his fate._

 _Now it was time to right these 'wrongs' and restore the 'balance' that he had proclaimed so early on._

 _***Omake: The Horrors of the 'A'***_

"My name is Ichigo, the letter bestowed upon me by my father when I was a child is 'A' for the **Aizen** "

The Royal Guard tensed, and then relaxed in confusion, "wait… what? What the hell does that even mean?"

"Oh, it is okay if you do not understand Tenjiro. I do not expect someone of… _your intelligence_ to understand the complexity of my plans."

"What plans? What the hell are you even talking about?"

"I knew that you would say that Senjumaru, I have been planning your response for over a hundred years now…"

"What? What the fuck does that even mean? Plus you are like eighteen years old… wait… are you trolling us?"

"Haha silly Shutara, with your _limited_ understanding I am sorry to say that you will never fully grasp my plans…"

"He's calling us stupid… oh screw it fuck this kid up Oetsu!"

The 'Sword God' shot forward, impaling Ichigo on his blade, only for the boy to begin laughing.

"You foolish man, at what point did you think that you weren't actually stabbing yourself?"

"Wait… what?"

The man promptly fell over, dead, having stabbed himself in some sort of weird confusion.

"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" Kirio Hikifune cried out.

 _***RitL***_

"Father… you never did answer me when I inquired as to _how_ Ichigo's abilities actually work…"

"Quite right, I never did my son"

The blonde paused, waiting for his father to elaborate, until it was clear the man wasn't going to. "Why is that?"

"Because quite frankly I have no freaking clue…"

***A/N***

Hopefully this end of the Royal Guard did not disappoint anyone. Yhwach would have known how powerful those five were, and that if he did not plan for a counter against them then they would have suffered horrific casualties in bringing them down.

As for returning Irmine, the reason for this is two fold. First I needed a reason for Ichigo to 'lose' his powers. Otherwise my lovely readers would have been asking questions such as "Why didn't Ichigo just go God Mode on the rest of the Shinigami and wipe the floor with them?"

Second is that quite a few readers requested her to return in some way, and what better than to have a God-like being literally carry her back from death?

Also in response to the first part of this chapter... why the hell _didn't_ they just teleport Ichigo down to the Seireitei? We know that Oetsu's servants can do so...

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Yhwach

Ichigo

Jugo

Mask

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orihime - _deceased_ -

The Royal Guard - _deceased-_

Aizen Sosuke

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A **The Ascension** Ichigo

B **The Blade** Jugram

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F **The Freedom** Joli

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God - _revived-_

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N **The Noise** Xaros

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** \- Clovis

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

The Royal Guard

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku

Nanao

Omaeda


	21. Father Against Son

**Raised in the Light**

Father against Son

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"Damnit Kisuke hurry the hell up! We don't have time for all the bells and whistles that you normally shove onto your shit."

"Hmmmm bells and whistles…. YES THAT'S IT! My dear neko you are a genius!"

"Well yeah, I know that but why this time?"

The various Shinigami rolled their eyes at the two.

"It's very simple, the answer is resonant frequency. You see all things have a very specific frequency at which they resonate and vibrate. If you can create a loud enough sound at this frequency you can break the object. This is how Yhwach managed to destroy the barriers. Normally they are completely invulnerable to even the strongest of force, but they are not protected against themselves. He caused them to break down because of their own doing not by forcing his way past." The blonde shopkeeper paused, ignoring the looks of shock and confusion on the various faces in the room.

"Undoubtedly that is why he attacked Hueco Mundo first" a new voice called out, as the Shinigami looked up at the face of Ryuken Ishida.

"Ryuken!? What are you doing here?"

"Really Kurosaki? My son is involved in a massive war against his own kind, the man responsible for my wife's death has returned, and the balance of the worlds is beginning to crumble and you ask _why_ I am here?"

Isshin gave an embarrassed chuckle, before scratching the back of his head.

"You were saying about Hueco Mundo Ishida-San?"

The Quincy turned towards the current Captain General and nodded before continuing in train of thought. "Yes, the natural spiritual energy that permeates the world of Hollows is some of the most pure and unrefined in existence. If Yhwach were to harvest vast amounts of it he could shape it to whatever he wants. Which means he most likely used it to begin the resonance of the barriers. Gather enough of it and he could theoretically destroy even the strongest of obstacles."

"Indeed, quite ingenious of him I must say…" Urahara muttered, before being smacked by the dark-skinned woman.

"Don't compliment the enemy Kisuke, just figure out a way to get us up there!"

 _***RitL***_

"I am sorry"

The large muscle bound Sternritter turned a curious gaze towards the orange haired son of his best friend.

"Pardon young master?"

"I know what he did to your family… how you wanted to kill him yourself…"

The masked man blinked, before smiling softly, the boy really was too kind for his own good.

"Ah you are speaking of the Hot Spring Demon."

Ichigo nodded

"Yes I did desire vengeance on him, and for many years I believe it was possibly the only thing that kept me going in this world but… I have seen the effects of keeping such hatred going. If that was all I had to continue driving me then I would be dead right now. I would have liked to have been the one to end his life, but as long as he no longer breathes it is enough for me… that and the fact that watching him burn alive in shock and horror was quite satisfying."

The younger man smiled and gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"You have nothing to apologize for Ichigo, in fact I really should be thanking you. If it wasn't for your actions, then we would have undoubtedly suffered disastrous casualties and a young girl would still be dead. You have saved countless lives in your actions, and unknowingly secured your place as the future Lord of the Quincy."

This time he blushed, "I still say Jugo is a better choice… besides I hate paperwork."

The man roared out in laughter.

 _***RitL***_

"Mistress"

Bambietta turned to face the two bowed Arrancar, confused beyond belief as to why they addressed her as such.

"Uhmmmm what?"

"We wish to speak with you mistress, if you have the time." Harribel spoke up.

"Uhhhhh sure?"

The three went into a nearby room where they could speak in private, "Okay so what is this about… and why are you calling me that?"

"You are with master… which makes you mistress." Nel pointed out.

"Oh… I mean I guess so… what did you two need?"

"We wished to speak with you about the future… after the war is over."

The Quincy nodded slowly, having thought quite about this topic herself in the past few days.

"We… wanted to know where we would fit in…"

Bambietta blinked in confusion at the odd, almost vulnerable, tone of the green haired Espada. It was certainly not something she would have expected from the powerful Arrancar.

"What she means is if we will continue being allowed to serve our master, and what we will be doing for him." The dark-skinned woman clarified.

'Ah so that's it, they were allowed to serve him as protectors for the war and once that is over they are afraid of being discarded or killed.'

"I am sure Ichigo will allow you to continue in your duties, though I am not sure what they will specifically be."

"Perhaps if we cannot protect master and mistress we could… serve in other ways? Perhaps master would give us the honor of helping to continue his line, or if that is not possible to allow him the pleasure of our flesh?"

Bambietta began a coughing fit as her face lit up in a deep blush, sure she knew that the Arrancar were a bit… fanatical… towards her lover but she didn't think it was love or lust based.

"Uhm well I don't think that is…"

"Oh, do not worry mistress, we would certainly include you in this pleasure as well…" Nelliel finished with a slight purr in her voice.

Bambietta bolted from the room before her face could heat up any more than it already was.

 _***RitL***_

"Brother?"

"I'm worried"

"Father will be fine, he is more powerful than either of us and far wiser in both war and in life. If anyone can defeat that _monster_ it is him."

"I know that... I just wish he wasn't so focused on doing it alone. Surely one, or all, of us could have gone with him. What if something happens? What if it was a trap or..."

"Brother"

The orange haired boy halted in his worried pacing, before glancing up at the blonde. His brother who was always so confident, so sure of himself and his abilities. His brother who was a natural to all Quincy arts, who could out duel any Sternritter with either the bow or the blade. The man who he admired just as much as his father.

"He will be fine, we both know this. He shall emerge victorious just as we all know he shall. Then when the Shinigami come and try to avenge their losses we shall be ready for them. That is the true reason that he left us behind. He trusts us to protect him and the kingdom when he is vulnerable. Just as he took care of us as children and after your defeat of the Royal Guard so must we now protect him and the others. This task falls upon us brother, the only question remaining is will you be ready for it?"

A look of fierce determination appeared on Ichigo's face.

They both had their answer.

 _***RitL***_

The Soul King, self-declared God of all things and master of creation, stood in the large throne room across from his son Yhwach.

The child who was _supposed_ to have further cemented his hold on the worlds, but had refused his gifts and orders. Instead the child had rebelled, broke allegiances, and defied his fate.

Now it was time to right these 'wrongs' and restore the 'balance' that he had proclaimed so early on. Reaching forward the 'man' called forth a intricate and beautiful blade forged of pure energy. A blade that only he could wield, that had _no_ equal in all of existence.

Yhwach snarled, before summoning the energy blade of his own, an impressive feat and yet it was not _nearly_ up to the same level as the great King's.

" _I am surprised that you are willing to risk all of your plans on a simple sword duel. You always were a failure in that skill_ "

"Perhaps I have learned a thing or two in my thousand-year absence. Let us see if your skills are as sharp as you claim them to be. How long has it been since you _actually_ had to exert yourself _father_? A thousand years? Two thousand? Do you even know how to swing that blade anymore?"

Instantly he was forced to parry the powerful blow as the Soul King had traversed the distance faster than any Shinigami could hope to move.

The force pushed him backwards, causing grooves to be torn into the floor as his feet attempted to gain traction and balance out. Apparently his father had in fact _not_ lost his touch.

" _Watch your tongue with me boy, I have allowed you to come this far but now this pathetic rebellion ends._ "

"Not quite yet father…" With that the Quincy summoned forth a hail of arrows from above him, forcing the 'God' to once again teleport out of their path.

This time he was ready though, and they clashed blades once more. Instead of repeating the last clash Yhwach had the advantage of striking first, and forced his father backwards.

" _Ah so you have finally begun trying to surpass me eh boy? Well I can guarantee you that no matter how strong you have become… you will never triumph against me._ "

"We shall see about that."

 _***RitL***_

Echoes ran out through the large room as the sounds of battle filled the seemingly empty halls. Again and again the two great warriors clashed. It was not the sound of metal on metal, but rather a fizzling noise, the sound of static emanating when their blades met.

Yhwach flowed between attack and defense with a grace born from decades of training. Each blow was calculated and flawless, each sweeping gesture was both beautiful and deadly at the same moment.

The Soul King, however, was on an entirely different level. To him combat was more like Chess than a battle of wills. Every movement was planned a dozen steps in advance. Yhwach attacked because he believed that he saw an opening, defended when he perceived a weakness. But all of these were planned. Every movement from both ancient warriors was thought out ahead of time.

Suddenly the older of the two broke the imagined deadlock, knocking his son's blade aside and slashing forward with practiced ease.

If he was surprised by the blade that blocked his own then he did not show it.

 _Zanka no Tachi_ , the most feared of all Zanpakuto wielded by the Gotei 13. He had known that it was 'stolen' during his son's revenge against the eldest of Shinigami but he did not think that the Quincy would be actually use it in battle.

His son was generally too proud to stoop to such levels.

" _So, you resort to utilizing another's strength, I do not know whether I should be proud or embarrassed by you._ "

Yhwach's ferocious grin gave him the only warning he would receive before the Soul King was put onto the defensive, parrying and moving backwards against the onslaught of his son's dual wielding ability.

"What's wrong father?" The Quincy inquired, each blade flowing perfectly with the other, compensating for any holes in his defense and preventing any counter attacks. "You are putting up less of a fight than even Yamamoto did."

The Spiritual Lord growled back at this insult.

 _***RitL***_

A heavy slash sent forth a wave of deadly heat from the ancient blade. Normally an attack of such caliper would be enough to completely disintegrate an opponent, or at least destroy any defense that they might have and split them in two.

The Soul King merely split the blast in half with his own sword, it was a bit ironic that so many Shinigami feared Yamamoto's _Bankai_ , perhaps because they did not know of the easiest way around it's impressive abilities.

A blade so hot that it would incinerate all that came into contact with it… provided that there was something _to_ incinerate. Even the hottest flame could not damage raw energy. Thus the creator of all Shinigami could quite easily halt the ability and counter it with his own wave of force.

In a contest of pure power his own attack would win out every single time. _Zanka no Tachi_ was designed not for raw power, but heat. If that could be countered the opponent would find very little force behind the blade. Ironically it was very fragile, the only reason it would not break was that few things of this world could actually encounter it without burning away first.

His own blade was one of the exceptions.

Gripping his sword with two hands the Soul King and his son clashed, producing the sound of a shattered blade as the oldest and most powerful of _Bankai's_ broke into pieces.

 _***RitL***_

" _So what do you plan on doing now boy? The only hope you had of keeping up with me now lies broken. All of you cunning and manipulations and you failed so close, and yet so very far from your goals._ "

Yhwach glanced up at his father, ignoring the injuries he had obtained so far, a slight smirk appearing on his face, "Who said that was my _only_ plan? I do believe it was you who taught me to always have a backup strategy."

With that the Quincy Lord extended his hand, and fired a barrage of arrows, continuing the battle once more.

 _***RitL***_

The Soul King let out a deep sigh, as he strolled across the ornate floor, which was now covered in craters and dirt from the battle. His son truly had put up a much greater fight than he had been anticipating, yet in the end it was all for naught. None could stand before a God, none could defeat him, or even come close to standing at his level. The war was over, and he had once again come out victorious.

" _Now do you see the error in your ways? Now do you see the truth?"_

Yhwach growled, pushing himself up onto his wobbly legs once more.

" _Give up. Surrender and bow before me. Perhaps if you plead I will spare the lives of your children."_

"Resorting to lying now? Is there any point to that father?"

The sickening grin answered him a moment later.

" _I suppose you are right, none of you shall leave this holy place._ "

"It is not godliness that clings to this forsaken city, but a cancer. You are a disease upon this world."

An unnatural and defiled chuckling rang out through the room.

" _I am the God of this world."_

"More like the devil. You have corrupted it and its very nature."

" _I AM the world, I AM the balance._ "

"Not while I live you're not. I will see you dead… even if it kills me in the process. _Minami: Kaka Jumanokushi Daisojin!_ "

With that the Quincy lord slammed the remains of the stolen blade into the ground, raising forth an army of thousands of skeletal soldiers to his command.

His opponent merely looked on, unimpressed as the horde charged forward towards him.

A slash of his blade reduced them back to the ashes and smoke from whence they came, pathetic really, did his son truly believe that…

As the smoke cleared the King's eyes widened, his son was no longer standing in front of him.

Suddenly something pierced him from behind, a large metal object. A blade if he wasn't mistaken.

Foolish yet again, the stolen _Bankai_ , as powerful as it was, could never truly damage him. He had created the concept of the _Zanpakuto_ and given it to Oetsu. This meant that he could heal any wound that might be created by them. All he had to do was…

His powers faltered, and pain swept through his very being. Something was wrong, terribly _awfully_ wrong.

Looking back he saw a very different hilt sticking out of his back, and his son with a bow formed a dozen feet away.

"It all comes back to the bow. You should know that father, after all you created it for us. The scimitar that I wielded was never meant to be a blade to counter the swords of the Shinigami, it was an arrow crafted specifically to kill you. A sword distinctly different than that of a _Zanpakuto_. A weapon that will finally end you. The weapons forged by your creations are mockeries of the other creatures that _you_ forged. Combining Hollows together in order to create a blade might be somewhat clever but it is crude and imperfect. My blade, however, was forged by my own two hands. Created in the one place that you cannot reach, from the very thing that you despise. You see I figured out that you claim your invulnerability due to your connection to the spiritual energy of the dead, but by spending over a thousand years in the World of the Living I was able to create a weapon that you _cannot_ utilize. One forged of human life."

The Soul King raged and screamed as it's body began to break down, unable to cope with the sudden influx of energy, the one source that it was never able to devour. The energy of life.

" _You haven't won boy. This is not the end of our war, if you truly think that my servants will allow this sacrilege to go unanswered then you are sorely mistaken. They shall kill you and your family. Your servants shall be massacred and your line will finally be purged from this world."_

Yhwach watched as his father's body began to decay and rot away, not disappearing in the peaceful manner that befell so many other spiritual entities, but instead it was if reality itself was ridding the world of the taint, removing the horrific mass of disease from it's own structure.

"Perhaps, but knowing that the cycle you have perpetuated will end shall make it all worth while. Those who stand by me know the truth, they know what the risks are and what they fight for. Instead of deceiving them as you have done for a millennium I told them everything, and they stood by me for the sake of others, can you truly say that father? In these final moments do you truly believe that you have ever trusted _anyone_? Believed in _anyone_? Loved _anyone_?"

Any response the entity might have had would never be heard as it's form blackened like a piece of paper being consumed by fire, before turning to ash and breaking apart.

The self-proclaimed God of the Shinigami, no more than dust in the wind.

 _***RitL***_

Something was different, as if the air was just a bit cleaner and the sky a bit more clear. There was a void in the world now, something that the Shinigami in the Seireitei couldn't quite explain. It was as if some fundamental knowledge had been reversed, turned upside down and made incorrect. Perhaps one plus one no longer equaled two, or that the sky was no longer above them and the ground below. Maybe Spiritual energy did not make up the world and Hollows were now mild mannered, aristocratic, and pompous assholes.

But a single chuckle from the forces of the Gotei 13 out of their ponderings, a chuckle which quickly turned into a roaring laugh.

It was a rather horrific sight, watching Aizen Sosuke, the man who always kept calm, save for when his final defeat occurred, doubled over in hysterical laughter.

"The hell is wrong with you asshole?"

"Don't you get it you ignorant, stupid barbarian?" the traitor replied, earning a growl from Zaraki. "The Soul King is dead… DEAD! All of you were so worried about me betraying you and the Arrancar… and now it is the _Quincy_ who have finally destroyed the abomination that sat upon the false throne in Heaven. Now what will you do hm? WHAT IS YOUR BIG MASTER PLAN NOW KISUKE URAHARA!?"

Once more the madman roared out laughter, his taunts earning no comebacks from the normally unshakable blonde.

 _***RitL***_

'What do we do now? The Soul King has fallen, which means that the Royal Guard is probably dead too. With all of them gone the Shinigami have no future. There will be no more _Zanpakuto_ created, no more _Shihakusho_ to be designed by Shutara to provide protection for the Soul Reapers…'

Urahara fell down to his knees, the weight of the world finally reaching its peak and dropping down onto him. He had failed, once more he had failed everyone.

Too many times… too many times had he let his friends down. He hadn't stopped Aizen when he could have, before everything had escalated. He hadn't prevented the Winter War, despite knowing _exactly_ what the psychopath had been after. He had failed to prevent the man's immortality, failed to foresee the invasion by the Quincy, failed to save so many lives… and now this.

What kind of a genius was he? He was heralded as the brightest Shinigami to ever walk existence. There had been word spreading that he would have been promoted to the Royal Guard in only a few decades if he had not been exiled.

"Kisuke don't listen to that bastard. Take a few deep breaths and calm yourself."

Glancing up the shopkeeper saw the image of his best friend in the world, Yoruichi, come to guide him once again. It was ironic, for as much as he was praised it really was the dark-skinned woman who balanced him, kept him from falling into darkness over his failures or becoming a sadistic madman for the sake of science.

It was she who kept him grounded, who showed him the light in the deepest shadows, who gave him a reason to keep going when he couldn't find another.

With a nod the man stood, his mind working furiously towards a solution to this new problem.

"The end goal hasn't changed, just the situation revolving around it. Yhwach still has to be destroyed and the Quincy with him. True the Soul King was the linchpin but there are ways around this. We can create a substitute to take his place until a permanent solution is found, but first and foremost the balance _has_ to be guarded. Otherwise the world will end before we can even start planning."

"So one step at a time, first we need to get up to the Royal Realm, I assume that you are still with us despite your newfound attitude Aizen?" Shunsui inquired, earning a reluctant nod from the former Captain.

"Yes yes of course. Despite his accomplishment Yhwach still wants me gone, which is quite annoying."

"I feel so very bad for you… asshole…"

Hitsugaya fought the urge to grin, while Gin did not.

"So Urahara do you have a plan for reaching the Royal Realm now?"

"Oh, putting so much weight on the back of such a simple shopkeeper like myself?"

"Cut it out Kisuke!" Yoruichi replied, smacking the back of the man's head.

"So mean… anyway yes I do believe I have the solution to that problem. You see Yhwach undoubtedly damaged the barriers in their assault upon the palace, which means we _should_ be able to punch through them if we use enough force of the right type."

"What are we talking about Kisuke?"

"We need to harvest raw unchanged spiritual energy, normally we would have to go to Hueco Mundo to do such a thing but that will take far too much time and… well there is another option."

The others looked on curiously as the man covered his eyes using his patented hat for a moment, as if silently praying for them to forgive him.

A sickening grin appeared on the face of Aizen Sosuke as he realized _exactly_ what the man meant. "Oh this truly is a wonderful day, first the death of the Soul King and now this? The great warrior of the light and beacon of hope Kisuke Urahara, are you going to suggest what I do so hope is true?"

"What is he talking about Hat-n-Clogs?" Karin spoke up, her eyes narrowed into hate filled glares at her nemesis.

"Since we cannot just harvest this in time… we need to _create_ it instead. The only way of efficiently doing so is to combine living and deceased souls…"

"Wh-what are you suggesting…" the brunette girl asked, a horrific tingling went down her spine as she worried about his response.

"He means that we need to destroy inhabitants of the Soul Society and the World of the Living and harvest them. Truly a brilliant idea my nemesis… perhaps we are more alike than you thought!"

The various exiles shot the man a glare, before the blonde justified his actions, "I don't _want_ to do it Yuzu but… everything depends on us right now. The faster we can get up there the better situation we will be in. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made…"

The young girl turned, a look of horror on her face, to her sister. Karin looked as if she would become physically ill at the thought.

"Despite our feelings towards the task Kisuke Urahara is right. Begin the plan immediately and prepare for the invasion of the Royal Realm." Shunsui commanded.

 _***RitL***_

"Rukia, you and Renji can't really be okay with this are you!?"

The Shinigami sighed, before turning towards the two young girls that she saw as her own sisters. "Of course I'm not, but are you really willing to risk _everyone_ if we don't?"

Yuzu fell silent, allowing her sister to take up the response instead, "There has to be another way. Just because the first option is the _easiest_ doesn't mean it is correct!"

"No but things have changed, not only was the Seireitei nearly destroyed but with the Soul King dead… We can't risk anything else Karin. I wish there was another way I really do but…"

"What if it isn't true Renji?"

The red haired man looked towards the brunette in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Our brother… he told us that the balance is a lie… that the Soul King isn't what we think he is…"

"Nonsense, that would mean that all of the Captains I have ever known lied about this. That isn't logical. I'm sorry Yuzu but it looks like your brother was deceiving you."

"But why?"

Rukia glanced towards the other sister again.

"Why would he even _bother_ lying to us? He could have killed both of us and our father if he wanted to. If he was truly evil then why wouldn't he? It's not like they don't have the advantage at this point."

"True, but Aizen lied to us all as well and it didn't seem to serve any purpose at the time either. We need to keep things simple for right now. They are the bad guys, we are the good guys. Until this is all over we can't afford to second guess everything." The only male concluded.

"Life isn't that simple Renji, I think you two, out of everyone, would understand that."

Turning the two sisters left, allowing the two friends to stand in silent contemplation.

 _***RitL***_

More than a dozen hours, and many sacrifices, later and the remaining forces of the Shinigami stood ready to puncture a hole to their destination. All of the remaining Captains, Lieutenants, and outcasts stood inside of the large cannon, waiting for Urahara to initialize the device.

"Now then, please note the nearest emergency exit, stick with your assigned buddy, and remember if anyone wearing white offers you candy just say 'no'."

"Kisuke get on with it!"

"Fine fine... spoilsport."

Pressing the button the tube was promptly filled with a bright blue light, before firing into the sky and transporting its inhabitants through the unknown and towards their target.

The Royal Realm and the Quincy forces.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

"I figured you would find your way here sooner or later. I am glad to see that you made it okay."

 _Nemu continued staring at the man who had taken the time to teach and save her, had then killed her father while protecting her at the same time, and finally left while promising her that she could seek out her vengeance at a later date._

 _***Omake: The beginnings of a Harem***_

Bambietta sat next to her, still recovering, lover, gently rubbing his hand as the two Arrancar walked quietly into the room.

"Master, could we speak with you and mistress for a moment?"

The boy nodded at the paler of the two former Espada, allowing them to continue.

"You see master Hollows are attracted to power and dominance, and after the last battle well…"

"We want to have your babies."

The Quincy blinked, and then blinked again in confusion before shock settled in.

"Uhm well that is rather… uh… you see Bambietta and I…"

"Oh, it's okay Ichigo, I can learn to…"

Before she could finish her statement a rumbling shook the room and surrounding area. A sound as deep as thunder and yet as foreboding as an oncoming army marching towards them.

"What the heck is…"

Suddenly a man's head ripped through the floor next to them, scaring all four of the occupants half to death.

"ICHIGO MY SON! YOU HAVE FINALLY BEGUN YOUR JOURNEY ON THE PATH TO MANLINESS!"

"HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET UP HERE!? WE ARE LIKE 100 MILES IN THE SKY!"

"MY SON THERE IS NO DISTANCE THAT CAN KEEP APART THE BOND BETWEEN A FATHER AND SON!" After this proclamation, the man finished dragging himself up through the hole he had made in the floor. "NOW TELL ME OF YOUR EXPLOITS! I SEE THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE THREE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN BEGGING FOR YOUR MANLINESS!"

The three women blushed, while Ichigo attempted to reach the nearby chair where his Quincy cross sat, if he could reach it perhaps he could destroy the floor and send the crazed man plummeting back to whence he came.

"NOW I EXPECT GRAND CHILDREN FROM ALL THREE OF THESE WOMEN IN THE NEXT YEAR! THE SEED OF OUR LOINS ALWAYS IS TRUE SO IT SHOULD BE NOT PROBLEM FOR YOU MY SON!"

"Must… reach… cross... must… murder… father…"

"AND THEN THERE ARE THE FOURSOMES YOU SHALL UNDOUBTEDLY PARTAKE IN! PERHAPS IF WE ARE LUCKY I CAN CONVINCE YORUICHI TO JOIN YOU AS WELL! SHE IS QUITE THE WOMAN FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN!"

The three females looked about ready to die from embarrassment when Yhwach appeared in the doorway.

"Ichigo my son I heard shouting are you…"

"AH THE SUBSTITUTE FATHER ARRIVES ONCE MORE ON THE SCENE! WHY DID YOU NOT INFORM ME OF OUR SON'S INCREDIBLE MANLINESS THE LAST TIME WE SPOKE!?"

The Quincy lord took a slow step backwards, and then another as if moving too fast would allow the crazed man to see him and encourage him to attack.

"DO NOT FLEE FROM MY MANLY HUG!"

Yhwach fled, with Isshin close behind.

"Oh, thank God… are you three okay?"

"So Ichigo… about Yoruichi… she's pretty hot, right?"

Said man promptly passed out again.

***A/N***

So... yeah... Soul King be dead yo.

Couple of real short things. First it always kinda bothered me that the significance behind Yhwach's blade wasn't explained, second the Soul King himself was never really mentioned besides being in a giant crystal, and finally why everyone hated him to begin with.

As for what Yhwach and Ichigo keep talking about, the whole 'abomination' thing, that will be explained soon enough so don't worry.

In the section where Urahara basically turns into a murderer... well Aizen basically had to do the same thing in order to reach the Spirit King so I feel that the Shinigami shouldn't have been able to just magic their way around or however the hell they did it.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Yhwach

Ichigo

Jugo

Mask

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orihime - _deceased_ -

The Royal Guard - _deceased-_

Aizen Sosuke

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A **The Ascension** Ichigo

B **The Blade** Jugram

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F **The Freedom** Joli

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God - _deceased_ -

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille

M **The Mirror** Lothar

N **The Noise** Xaros

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** \- Clovis

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

The Royal Guard

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku

Nanao

Omaeda


	22. The Paths We Walk

**Raised in the Light**

The Paths We Walk

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"So what is the battle tactic Commander-Sama?"

Shunsui gave a sigh, they had already lost a decent portion of soldiers before they had even begun. Lisa, Hachi, and Mashiro had all chosen not to join the attack, stating that enough Visoreds had sacrificed and died due to Shinigami ignorance. Isane had also chosen to stay behind to try and continue saving lives rather than taking them. Not surprising considering the impact that Unohana's death had on the poor girl. "Well I figure we should split up into teams, to avoid any sort of traps or defenses they might have laid. We will meet up at the Royal Palace and from there move on Yhwach."

Most nodded

Two disagreed

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Aizen held back a grin at the disrespect that the young girl was showing.

"Karin now is not the time for..."

"Can it dad! You want us to split up and just wander around an enemy controlled city to just hope for the best? Did we not learn the first time that your commander chose this strategy?"

"Enough! We are at war and you are expected to follow orders, is that clear Karin Kurosaki?"

The black haired girl glared at her supposed commanding officer before nodding "crystal sir."

Nodding Shunsui set about establishing the groups, ignoring the anger rolling off the young girls. If he was honest it was becoming a bit tiring trying to deal with insubordination along with everything else. This wasn't some kids game, it was war. In war orders had to be followed or people died. Hopefully she figured that out before the worst happened

 _***RitL***_

"I still can't believe you convinced the others to go along with this."

"Aw comeon Rangiku-chan don't be like that. You know that I was your number one choice."

The woman blushed ever so slightly, "I'm not upset, I am just surprised you convinced Captain Hitsugaya."

"Only because he knew we were being paired off, and when I mentioned it was either you or Hinamori..."

"So you manipulated him..."

"YUP!"

The lieutenant sighed and shook her head at her best friend's antics. "What am I going to do with you Gin?"

"Have you thought about that?"  
Rangiku turned immediately, shocked by the sudden seriousness in the silver haired man's voice.

"Wh-what?"

"What you are going to do once this is all over?"

"I... I don't know."

"Would you come with me? Stay with me like we talked about when we were kids? Could you..."

He let the words die on his tongue, they weren't needed at this point anyway. Both Shinigami knew each other well enough to have this conversation silently if need be.

"Yes Gin, I could... and I do."

The former Captain smiled for once a warm and natural smile, completely different than the snake-like ones he usually used.

"Well isn't this adorable, looks like you two are a match made in heaven... or where ever the hell we are right now."

The two officers leapt backwards, putting distance between themselves and the Sternritter.

"And you are..."

"Oh my name is Lothar, I would be the one who took care of your ally Captain Unohana."

Gin grimaced, Retsu Unohana had been one of the most powerful Captains in the Soul Society, if this man had killed her... the two of them stood little chance of defeating him.

"Alright Gin here's the plan, I will flank around from behind while you..."

Before she could finish her attempt at strategizing she fell forward, knocked unconscious by a blow to the back of the head by her best friend.

"Oh my, didn't see that one coming. You probably shouldn't have done that though, now you are going to have an even bigger problem with..."

"I don't want to fight you or your master."

"Uh... what?"

"I have no interest in fighting you. The Soul King is dead, the Gotei 13 are nearly destroyed, and we have already lost, we just are too stubborn to admit it. With Aizen released I have no doubt that he will try and kill me regardless of the outcome."

"So... you just want to leave?"

"Yes"

"Hmmmm" the man took on a thinking pose before giving a shrug, "Alright, take care and don't attack us again."

Gin blinked, rather shocked that it had been that easy to convince the man.

"We don't really want to just kill everyone, the initial attack was to weaken your forces and allow our victory over the Soul King. Otherwise we prefer peace."

With a nod, and a slight whisper of thanks Ichimaru picked up his friend and proceeded to depart, heading towards the capsule that the Royal Guard had used to initially arrive at the Soul Society.

 _***RitL***_

"What is the plan Tessai-Sama?"

The Kido master looked over towards the allied Quincy before taking on a contemplative posture, "well master Uryu I believe the first objective we should have will be..."

Before he could finish Nemu glanced off into the distance before walking in a completely different direction with a look of purpose on her face.

"Ummm Nemu-san where are you..."

Without answering the young girl leapt off, followed closely by her two assigned companions.

 _***RitL***_

"I must admit I am fairly impressed" Yoruichi called out, before turning slowly to the man sitting on a nearby rock. "I _almost_ didn't notice your approach, you are quite fast."

The man grinned, "thanks, the name is Clovis and you must be Shihoin."

"I am the one and only."

"I am surprised that you are not with your blonde friend."

"Well you know how it is. He's still a bit too slow to keep up with me."

"Ah, well I suppose I know what you mean. The short haired female Captain was a bit too slow as well."

Frowning for a moment the exile thought upon what the man said, until the truth hit her. This man had been the one to kill Sui-Feng. "I hope you realize that this is your _last_ day alive. I am going to rip you apart with my bare hands for what you did to her."

"Funny, I wonder if you would have congratulated her for my brethren that she killed first?"

The Shinigami flinched back as if struck. She had been aware that her former pupil killed before dying herself, if she had survived then the shapeshifter would have undoubtedly commended her valiant actions.

"Maybe you're right, but considering this entire war is just about vengeance I think we can all stop pretending to be so righteous."

The Quincy smiled, before nodding. "As you wish, vengeance brought us here and vengeance shall deliver us unto the end as well. So let us see who truly is the _fastest_."

 _***RitL***_

"Well well well look who we have here, two fake Shinigami who lost their way and ended up in a war they have no reason to be in."

Love and Hiyori turned to glare at the Quincy standing before them.

"We are looking for two of your kind, both of which took the lives of our friends. One has a stolen _Bankai_ which manipulates sound and the other is of the more bestial persuasion." the sunglasses wearing man called out.

"Well the one who took down your blonde leader sounds like Keifer. As for the other... you're looking at him."

"Then you are a dead man."

Xaros smirked, "seems like your kind always talk big when you are about to lose."

 _***RitL***_

"I figured you would find your way here sooner or later. I am glad to see that you made it okay."

Nemu continued staring at the man who had taken the time to teach and save her, had then killed her father while protecting her at the same time, and finally left while promising her that she could seek out her vengeance at a later date.

"I see that you have brought friends along this time as well."

Her eyes widened in realization, how could she be so stupid? The Quincy before her had killed a genius Captain, and she had lead both Uryu and Tessai right to him.

"Nemu-san, who is this?"

"He is a Quincy that much is certain, but he is a bit... odd..." Uryu noted, as an answer to the larger Shinigami's question.

"OH HO! TRULY OBSERVANT MASTER URYU! AND I SEE THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT A KIDO MASTER OF HIGH REGARD ALONG AS WELL! GOOD SHOW MY FRIEND!"

'He doesn't seem to want to hurt them quite yet. His voice and attitude changed dramatically when he was preparing to kill my father.' the girl noted, before spotting another Sternritter in the room.

"OF COURSE HOW RUDE OF ME! PLEASE COME FORTH AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO OUR GUESTS."

"Ummm my name is Mina, I am also known as **The Shield** , it is nice to meet all of you."

While Uryu and Tessai blinked in confusion Nemu just took in the awkwardness, which she admitted reminded her a bit of herself, and greeted her in kind.

"WELL NOW THIS SITUATION IS A BIT ODD IS IT NOT? I DECLARE A CHALLENGE UNTO THE FORCES OF THE SHINIGAMI! A BATTLE OF THE SEXES!"

This time everyone blinked a bit in confusion.

"I think he means men vs women?"

"INDEED MY GOOD MINA! LIEUTENANT KUROTSUCHI HERE HAS SOME VENGEANCE TO REAP UPON ME AND I AM QUITE CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITIES TO HANDLE THOSE TWO GENTLEMEN UNTIL OUR BATTLE HAS FINISHED!"

The female Quincy merely shrugged before taking up a defensive stance against the two men.

Meanwhile Nemu walked off to the side to stand before the largest man in the room, who smiled gleefully at her.

 _***RitL***_

"Damn, you are one fast bitch you know that?"

Yoruichi responded by flashing behind the man, and kicking him across the empty field before he could dodge in time.

"Maybe you are just a slow bastard."

Clovis pulled his face from the dirt, before chuckling. "Maybe I am just getting too old for this sort of thing, can't quite keep up with you youngsters anymore."

"I am pretty sure that I am actually older than you are, but keep any comments to yourself."

"Hey you said it not me..."

"I'm actually a bit disappointed with you. Claiming to be the fastest Quincy and this is your limit?"

"Well technically it's not... but you still have your _Shunko_ eh?"

"Seems you are just as informed as we had heard."

The man smiled, before noticing another Quincy run into the area, a bit out of breath.

"You okay there Dearg?"

"Yeah just... give me... a second..."

The man glanced over to the dark-skinned woman, who shrugged in acceptance.

A few moments passed before the woman called herself. "Why the hell did you two need to play a game of tag before fighting? I am not made of stamina you know."

Yoruichi grinned, "Aw come on don't be like that, tag is such a fun game!"

The new combatant rolled her eyes, before motioning for them to continue. "Don't worry I am not going to shoot you in the back or anything, not like I could hit either of you anyway..." The last part was muttered out in annoyance, eliciting a grin from the two fighters.

"Alright then why don't we stop with the warm ups and get serious eh?"

The Shihoin heir smirked dangerously, before coating herself in pure electricity.

"Now that's more like it, _Vollstandig: God's Chariot_ "

 _***RitL***_

'Figures that I would die like this, caught up in some dumbass plan by the dumbass Shinigami who just happened to be dumbasses…' Hiyori raged, while the whirlpool created by the _Bankai_ of her fallen friend swirled around her, nearly drowning her.

Suddenly she found herself grabbed and thrown out of the effect by her companion. Unfortunately, this also exposed the man, who took several arrows to the back due to his dropped guard.

"How kind of you to save the young girl at the expense of your own safety. Of course I do so hope you realize that I had planned on that, I mean if I had really wanted to harm her I could have just created fire instead don't you think?"

Love continued glaring at the man in fury, ignoring the damage he had taken due to the trap.

"Y-you aren't going to get away with this you bastard! We are going to kill you, then your friend, and then…" The young blonde stuttered out, trying to calm herself from the horrific feeling of the water filling her lungs.

"And then what? I mean what are you two _truly_ fighting for? Revenge against two people? That is such a narrow minded view of the world that it is pathetic. Your blonde friend was only killed because he chose to execute a young member of our own forces. We took revenge only for you to take revenge? Do you really believe that the Shinigami will triumph in this war? The Royal Guard are dead, The Soul King is dead, and most of your Captains are dead. Even if you do kill me, then by your own logic someone will come after you."

"I DON'T CARE!"

The young Visored turned towards her friend in shock, she had never seen the man break down in such a way before.

"I don't care what happens, just so long as you die."

"Very well, then let us battle without any more tricks. _Vollstandig: My God's Answer_ "

" _Bankai_ "

 _***RitL***_

"Do you think we should have told dad where we were going first?"

"No… something is different with him and the others. This war has changed them, changed everyone. That and I am sick of just following orders and having to find out the truth at the very last second by some evil bad guy. I want to get answers _now_ rather than trust someone else to deem it convenient."

Yuzu nodded, in her mind she too was fed up with being treated like a child by everyone. She wanted answers on her terms rather than someone else's… which meant there was only one person they could go to.

The two sisters set off towards their destination, hoping to avoid any conflict along the way.

 _***RitL***_

"So, I have a small present for you."

Nemu raised an eyebrow in curiosity, it was either a trap or he was trying to get on her good side for something.

After rummaging around in a large chest the man gave a small shout of accomplishment before pulling out a vial of odd looking liquid.

"Feel free to analyze it but it is essentially a rapid regeneration potion. I invented it a few years ago based on some research into Hollows. It only works temporarily but it should grow back the arm that you lost."

The shy girl glanced down to her missing limb, which had been removed after it was infected during the first battle against a Quincy. It had been rather difficult for her to function without it and there didn't seem to be any harm in at least looking at the substance.

"I will do that thank you."

The larger man grinned, before gently putting the vial into the girl's hand and closing her fingers over it. The gesture sent a jolt of… something down her spine, but she was sure it wasn't any sort of technique. It almost felt like… compassion. Like one of those 'hugs' she was always hearing about from the other scientists. She had never received such a thing growing up and she had always been a bit curious about the experience. Perhaps this man would…

"Tessai now!"

The sounds of battle broke the Shinigami from her inner monologue as she glanced over to the ensuing chaos.

It appeared as though Uryu was firing near constantly to keep the female Sternritter on the defensive, while Tessai was going through different _Kido_ spells and incantations to try and break through her barrier.

All efforts seemed to be failing miserably, and the look of frustration of was growing on the young boy's face.

'Why are we even doing this? What will it prove even if we do win?Even if the enemy Quincy are all killed it just means that Hollows will eventually tear humanity apart… so what are we fighting for?'

"I know that face all too well."

Blinking in confusion the black-haired girl turned back to the masked figure still standing next to her. Had she really dropped her guard so easily around him?

"Wh-what?"

"The expression you just had, I have seen it so often that I could draw it in my sleep. It is the face of someone who questions the future and what they are still fighting for. I have seen it on my own lord, on my brethren, and even in the mirror upon my own face."

"I just… don't know what I am continuing on for anymore. So many of the others are seeking vengeance but…"

A moment or two passed before the Quincy gently finished her statement, "But you don't know if you are or not. You are not sure if your father's death impacted you as much as it should have."

"Does that make me a bad person? A bad daughter?"

"No, it makes you a living, breathing person. From what I saw he was not worth the vengeance either."

Suddenly the ground they were standing on shook with power as dragons made of pure energy formed in the sky above them. The two briefly heard the _Kido_ master call his attack, apparently the highest level of _Hado_ in existence, as the creatures bore down upon their target, who whispered out her own technique.

" _Vollstandig: Protection of God_ "

With that both of the men combating the female Sternritter fell to the ground, severely damaged and burned as if by the man's own technique.

"This ability allows me to redistribute damage that might be inflicted on me onto those nearby. I have turned your own attack against you Shinigami. Be glad that I redistributed enough of it to the surrounding area that it did not kill you in the process."

Nemu's eyes widened as she watched the Quincy advance upon the two fallen warriors. "WAIT!"

Mina halted, looking over curiously.

"Please, if you spare them… I will do whatever you ask."

"They will not attack us again? They will give up this quest of theirs?"

The lieutenant nodded, "yes, I will make sure that they do."

The two standing Quincy's held a silent conversation across the scorched land, before she nodded in consent.

"Very well"

"Thank you…"

"OH HO! DO NOT THANK ME YET FAIR MAIDEN! FOR NOW I SHALL REVEAL YOUR END OF THE BARGAIN! YOU SEE MY CURRENT ASSISSTANT JAMES IS QUITE VERTICALLY CHALLENGED. THUS YOU SHALL EMBARK UPON A JOURNEY OF SCEINCE, EXPLORATION, AND PUTTING ITEMS ON THE TOP SHELF WITH US!"

Nemu Kurotuchi blinked twice, before realizing that the man was essentially adopting her without saying so.

After stealthily wiping away the tears from her eyes she nodded once more, and gave a quiet 'thank you'.

 _***RitL***_

She wasn't going to admit it, nope no way was it going to happen. Yoruichi Shihoin had put up with quite a lot of crap in her life, everything from her stick-in-the-mud family, to Sui-Feng's obsession, to becoming an exile, and most testing of all was simply dealing with Kisuke. But this…

This is where she drew the line in the sand, and by line she meant chasm.

Somehow the Quincy was beating her… in a contest of speed.

 _Speed_ , that was _her_ thing. The only thing she truly had at this point, besides her cat form and dead sexy appearance. So, there was no way in hell, or any other dimension, that she was going to let this novice show her up.

"It's not that big of a deal you know… I mean just because I…"

Clovis was forced to rapidly dodge a punch, which brought down the building he had just been standing against a split second before. The oddest thing, Yoruichi noted, was that in this new state he had small wings on his shoes and a helmet that he now bore. The rest of his outfit was the same though.

"Hey now don't you think you are taking this a _little_ too seriously?"

"Why don't you say that while standing still?" the dark-skinned woman growled out.

"Thanks for the suggestion but I rather enjoy my internal organs as they are… and by that, I mean solid and not liquefied in my body."

"I am going to catch you and then…"

"No, you won't."

" _Excuse me_?"

The Quincy sighed at the Shinigami's tone, hopefully this would help her damnable pride just a bit. "I said, no you won't catch me. You can't, not now. In my enhanced state I move faster than time itself. I will always arrive at my destination before time, and thus you, can even catch up. You literally _can't_ catch me. It isn't possible."

"We will see about that."

Again, the man let out a sigh, before shrugging. Perhaps it was time that he showed her exactly _how_ pointless this battle was.

The Shinigami shot towards him at near blinding speed, before throwing an overpowered punch once more.

She got closer and closer until… she froze, her hand mere inches from his face.

"It also doesn't matter even if you _do_ catch me. This isn't a one on one fight remember?"

Glancing over the shapeshifter noticed the female Sternritter standing there watching them, a smile on her face the entire time.

"All things **yield** to me. Which includes stopping any attack you can make."

It was times like this that the dark-skinned woman was regretting giving up her _Zanpakuto_ to escape the Seireitei.

She and Tessai had both been forced to do so after realizing that neither would be able to hide them from detection. Kisuke, on the other hand, was able to alter his in such a way that concealing its presence had been possible.

Yoruichi growled again, for once she was hoping that her shopkeeper friend would show up, he always was good at dealing with difficult situations.

 _***RitL***_

Xaros stood before his two opponents, and for once decided to simply hold back and bask in their awe for a few moments. His transformation always did have a slight… effect… on others.

While most other Sternritter became angelic in their secondary states his was quite the opposite. Instead of a halo he had two large curved horns, like a ram's. The angel-like wings were replaced by those similar to the Espada known as Ulquiorra. But his favorite change of all was his eyes. Instead of the almost golden color that they had been previously they now burned with a dark red hue, like the fires of Hell. This was magnified by the fact that his face was now covered in an impenetrable darkness created by his midnight black hood and cloak.

"Come"

Love returned his mind to the fight at hand first, raising his, slightly smaller, Tetsubo and charging forward.

Perhaps he thought for a moment that the battle would end so easily? Or perhaps it was just hopeful stupidity.

Raising his hand the Quincy fired a blast of concentrated sound, magnified by his new form. At such a level the shockwave tore across the ground, ripping up dust and debris as it moved.

Just before impact the Visored swung his weapon, and the attack dissipated instantly. Xaros frowned, though it was hidden behind the darkness.

"My _Bankai_ , _Seken Kowasu*_ allows me to destroy anything in this world, even the non-physical."

'Strange, if he was so confident in his ability then why wouldn't he…'

Hiyori swung her blade down from behind the cloaked man, her Hollow mask adorning her face and the buzzsaw-like sword gleaming in the sun. Just before it came into contact, her body screamed out to her.

Pain, agony on a scale that she had never experienced before. Being cut in half, Hollowification, looking down at Shinji's remains, all of these paled in comparison to what she was going through at this moment. A single second to her was a year of hell.

Crying out in a voice she had never used before the young girl fell to the ground, her body going through seizures due to the sensation coursing through her existence.

"HIYORI!"

'…attack me faster. Obviously he is Captain level so he should have gotten far closer than he did… perhaps it slows him down as well?' Xaros continued his musings, utterly ignoring the screams of the young Visored.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER!?"

"Hmm? What are you so upset about? Oh my mistake, I forgot that I surrounded myself with that. You see due to my enhanced state my control over sound has risen to a level where it responds without any effort on my part. I long ago figured out how to create a sound that causes physical pain in spiritual beings, and well you are seeing the results. Don't worry though, as long as the effect is canceled soon there won't be any permanent damage. Otherwise her muscles will being to tear themselves apart due to her flailing."

"BASTARD!"

"Hey don't get all self-righteous on me now. I thought we agreed that this was a battle of vengeance, to the death. All of that crap about trying to help the future or 'for the greater good' doesn't apply right now. You sure as hell wouldn't be wasting such an opportunity so why should I?"

"She is just a child!"

"No, she is a Shinigami. If you wear a warrior's uniform, carry the weapon of a killer, act like a soldier, and vow vengeance and death upon your enemies then you forfeit your life in combat. There are no innocent lives among those who choose such an existence. Your friends knew that and you should too."

"I am _going_ to kill you."

"So you have said, so why don't you try just a _little_ bit harder this time."

 _***RitL***_

Yoruichi Shihoin gasped out, trying her best to stop the blood flow from the numerous wounds she had thus received during the battle. The Quincy's arrows had been getting more and more accurate as time went on, while she had only managed to inflict a few light bruises on the man.

She hadn't been able to approach the female without earning retaliatory attacks from the other.

Now she was approaching her breaking point, if she did not think of something soon…

Suddenly an idea hit her, it had been so _obvious_ that she would be smacking herself in the back of the head if she had the time to do so.

Glancing up at the two Sternritter, who had graciously paused to give her a small respite, the Shinigami formulated her plan, and slipped a few dozen capsules into her hand.

Blurring forth once more Yoruichi charged toward the man, before dropping the small devices just before they clashed, thus covering the area in a thick, dense smoke. The most important part of this strategy, though, was that it had traces of her Reiatsu in it, thus concealing her movements from detection.

"Clever, using this to hide yourself so that you can strike me from behind. But I can assure you that it will not work. I will not be defeated by such a…"

The loud 'thump' noise from behind the man froze him in place. It sounded like a body, lifelessly hitting the ground.

Turning ever so slowly the male Quincy could just make out the form of his companion, lying on the ground with her head twisted in an unnatural way. He hadn't been the target, Dearg had.

Once more he had failed, and allowed an enemy to slip by him. Once more he had failed one of his companions.

Never again

The Sternritter began rapidly firing arrows at the woman, who was able to easily dodge them, while making her way forward. Now that his anger had taken hold, his accuracy had plummeted in favor of raw power. Just as she managed to reach him an arrow punctured her chest… or it would have if she had not vanished instantly.

A split second later he found a hand ripping through his stomach, a death blow if ever there was one.

" _Utsusemi_ , rapid movement which allows for an after image to be created." The woman explained.

"Clever," he spat out, as blood began to pour from his mouth, "but you aren't the only one with one last trick."

Too late did the dark-skinned woman notice the dozen capsules that the man had cradled in his hand, just like she had done previously.

Too late did she recognize the _Ginto_ capsules that Uryu had warned them about.

Too late was her reaction to flee from the area, which was engulfed in a massive blue explosion.

 _***RitL***_

"I must say, your _Bankai_ is terribly unimpressive. Sure you have the ability to destroy my attacks, but as you have noticed... well you just can't quite seem to swing fast enough."

Love stood nearby, leaning heavily on his weapon while covered in blood and bruises. The Quincy was right, even with his ultimate power he could not reach the man. His true weapon was undoubtedly powerful, but without the speed necessary to reach his target... it was rather limited.

Even worse was the fact that Hiyori was still trying to recover from the damage that had been inflicted during her torture.

"This isn't over yet you monster."

"Oh but I think it is. You see I have other things to do than babysit the two of you, and despite the fact that many of my comrades are reluctant to kill any more of you, I am not. It really is just unfortunate that you ended up facing me."

In the blink of an eye the larger man had summoned forth his Hollow mask and fired a full power _Cero_ at his target, who had seen the attack coming and easily dodged to the side. "Now that wasn't very nice. Here I was giving you time to recover and think about your next actions and you attack me without warning. How incredibly cruel of you."

In retaliation the Sternritter fired a compact burst of sound, which was barely parried in time by the powerful full release.

Unfortunately he had lost track of his target mid swing, thus was unprepared for the concussive blast that impacted him from behind.

It was only his mask-enhanced durability that prevented his spine from shattering.

"Impressive, but I wonder if you will be able to intercept an attack meant for someone else..."

Love's eyes widened in horror as the Quincy proceeded to target the fallen Hiyori. It was only the sealing of his _Bankai_ that allowed him enough speed to protect her from the blast.

Looking up at the man who had covered her body with his own Hiyori felt tears falling from her eyes once more.

"It's okay... we will be seeing Shinji and Rose soon..."

She nodded, as the man's eyes closed and he passed on from the world.

"If it makes you feel any better, we are all destined to die eventually. Only the truly lucky get to choose when and how."

The small blonde nodded sadly at the Sternritter, who fired one last attack, and rendered the area silent save for his own breathing.

 _***RitL***_

'Damnit Kisuke… where are you? Why are we here? What are we even fighting for anymore?'

These were the thoughts plaguing the Goddess of Flash's mind as she crawled forward along the ground, too damaged and weak to even stand at this point.

But she was strong, and she was resistant. If she could not run then she would walk, if she could not walk then she would crawl.

But what was she seeking? What reason did any of them have for being here?

As much as she didn't want to admit it, without the Shinigami, the Quincy were probably the only salvation that the human race still had.

And yet the Shinigami still tried for their ill-conceived vengeance. Still fought for some delusional fantasy world where victory would fix everything.

The future was far too broken to be repaired now.

 _***RitL***_

"Y-y-you!"

The green haired Arrancar practically rolled her eyes at the look of shock on the two young girls faces. Was it really that surprising that she would end up a part of this war as well?

"I assume you are here to see my master?"

"Wh-what?"

"My master, Ichigo. You are here to see him correct?"

The two Shinigami stared for another few seconds, before Karin snapped herself from the stupor. "Yes we are… why do you call him that?"

"… Because he is my master?"

"What about Aizen?"

"Our new master is far kinder and more powerful than _him_. Master has already promised us that he will not toss us aside like the old one did." The new answer came from further into the room, as Harribel stepped forward as well.

"What exactly do you… do for him?"

This time both women did _not_ hide the fact that their eyes rolled.

" _Anything_ and _everything_ that he asks." Nel replied, her voice dropping low and assuming a husky tone. It wasn't her fault, the two girls were just so easy to tease. She could immediately see why her master had become so fond of his sisters after only one meeting.

"Nel would you let them in please, I have very little time to spend with them as is before things escalate."

"Of course, master" the former Espada called back, before opening the door wider and allowing the two flabbergasted sisters inside.

"I see you two found me after all. I'm glad you did, I wouldn't want either of you getting hurt."

The warm smile that covered his face brought forth a strange feeling inside Yuzu. She had the impulse to do nothing more than jump into the man's arms and hug him.

"I assume you came here for answers?"

Karin nodded, "We are tired of being left in the dark until the _adults_ decide they want to share. We want to know everything, and you are the only one we could think of that has been completely honest with us and would have the answers we are looking for."

Ichigo nodded, "Alright then, we don't have a lot of time before we are interrupted unfortunately so I think we should get to the most important parts first. What do you know about the Soul King?"

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _The man that ripped out of his attack was now covered in thick armor, and apparently unharmed from the vicious onslaught that he had attempted._

" _Well don't you seem to be in a bit of a pickle eh Shinigami?" the other man called out, earning a glare for himself. Apparently Rukia and Renji would need to hold on for longer than he had anticipated._

 _***Omake: The Y***_

"Unfortunately for you Yoruichi-Sama our lord has seen fit to change the letter bestowed upon me. Apparently the author was having trouble coming up with any other ideas and went with **The Yield**... but luckily that has been fixed..." The female Sternritter proclaimed, causing Yoruichi to fall into a defensive position.

"My new ability for the **Y** is... **The Youth!"**

The Shinigami blinked in confusion, before she heard the sound of someone crashing through dozens of nearby buildings, glancing up she caught sight of the horrorific image of a man... in all green spandex and orange legwarmers.

"YYYYYYYOOOOOOOUUUUUTTTTTTTHHHHHH!"

"Nope, fuck this I'm out."

And Yoruichi proceeded to vanish in a flurry of _Shunpo_ , abandoning the fight completely.

"That... worked better than I expected Dearg-San." Cloves praised, while eyeing the man with a bit of fear.

"Indeed, the only problem is that... well I can't exactly turn it _off_..."

"What do you..."

"QUINCY SAN! YOU MUST UNDERTAKE A GRAND QUEST WITH ME, WE SHALL COMPLETE ONE HUNDRED LAPS IN THE HOT SPRINGS OF THE DEMON AND THEN RUN ONE HUNDRED LAPS AROUND THE ROYAL PALACE! IF WE CANNOT ACCOMPLISH THIS THEN..."

Before he could continue his crazed ramblings the other male Quincy also vanished, the fear of the man's bowl cut hair and blazing white teeth forever embedded in his mind.

"Hmm most unfortunate... I suppose that just leaves us then Dearg-chan... WHICH MEANS!"

Turning to address the girl Gai noticed that his summoner was also missing, before he broke down and began crying anime tears due to abandonment.

***A/N***

*Roughly translates to "World Destroyer"

So the Shinigami have counter invaded, and split up like in canon... why did they do that again? Seemed like a rather stupid idea to split their forces and just hope for the best... like usual...

Originally Gin was going to have an awesome and super climactic battle but just taking Rangiku and leaving seems far more in character for him all considering.

Uryu and Tessai were originally going to have a really cool fight but... well I kind of like emphasizing the non-combat scenes more at this point, adds a bit of character development.

Xaros is kind of a psychopath... which is a nice change from all of the Sternritter who just seem to be okay with letting their enemies live... at least I think it is. Shows that not all Quincy are 'good guys'.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Yhwach

Ichigo

Jugo

Mask

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orihime - _deceased_ -

The Royal Guard - _deceased-_

Aizen Sosuke

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A **The Ascension** Ichigo

B **The Blade** Jugram

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F **The Freedom** Joli

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God - _deceased_ -

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille -

M **The Mirror** Lothar -God's Reflection

N **The Noise** Xaros – My God's Answer

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** – Clovis – God's Chariot - _deceased_ -

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina – Protection of God

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde

V **The Volatile** Bambietta

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God - _deceased_ -

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

The Royal Guard

Love

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku

Nanao

Omaeda

Hiyori


	23. Road of Vengeance

**Raised in the Light**

Road of Vengeance

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"Renji, we should wait for my brother we were supposed to stick with him remember?"

"Yes, and I also remember him telling us to continue on while he checked something out. Do you want to be the one to explain how you ignored his orders?"

Rukia bit back a response, before shaking her head in the negative.

"Good, I don't want to either. So let's just keep going, I'm sure he will catch up in just a second and..."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me, I am stuck dealing with you two assholes again?"

The two Shinigami froze at the voice, remembering it from their battle in the Seireitei, the Quincy known as 'Bambietta'.

"You..."

"Yep, and this time I brought a different friend of mine. This is Keifer."

"Oh wow, you do have friends how impressive. I would have thought you were just some lonely bitch who got off on making people miserable and killing defenseless soldiers."

"Funny coming from a Shinigami, but regardless I do have quite a few friends, this one here is one of the more... ferocious of them."

The woman in question gave a very feral grin towards the two Shinigami, causing Renji pale a bit.

"This battle won't end like the last one. We are twice as strong as we were the last time."

"Good, then maybe this will actually be a little bit fun, last time was terribly boring for me." the Sternritter shot back.

 _***RitL***_

"You"

The Sternritter sighed, she truly had been hoping that the young girl standing before her would have given up her quest for vengeance and gone home to a peaceful life... but her gut had told her that it wouldn't be so easy.

"I have been looking for you..."

"You should have come with your Shinigami allies, you do not stand a chance against us."

"Karin and Yuzu had other things to do. I didn't want them involved in this."

"So you would rather die then accept any help, that is quite a foolish decision."

"SHUT UP YOU BITCH!" Tatsuki screamed back.

Clotilde sighed knowing that any further attempt to convince the girl to turn back would fail.

"It's just you and me. Chad you deal with the other one."

The giant nodded, before turning his attention to the other female, who he had received information on thanks to Renji and Rukia. Apparently she had the power to raise armies of the dead, luckily there didn't seem to be any around that she would be able to utilize.

"This is for my friend, prepare yourself for Hell."

The Quincy, merely gazed back, her expression sad but determined.

 _***RitL***_

"Ah Byakuya Kuchiki, it is an honor to meet you."

The Shinigami Captain halted, drawing his gaze over to the two Sternritter standing close by.

"And you would be?"

"I myself am called Adalgar good sir, and this is my companion for this battle, Ubel. We are **The Juggernaut** and **The Impact** respectively."

"I see, I am to assume that you are going to prevent me from aiding my two comrades then?"

"Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai? You would be correct. They will be in a battle soon enough and though they are powerful, you are considered far more dangerous due to your experience."

"Indeed, then I suppose I need to finish you two quickly to provide them aid."

"I suppose you are correct."

 _***RitL***_

Rukia hated to admit it, but even with their increase in power the two of them were still in a losing battle against the Quincy. It seemed that while the Shinigami focused on the art of single battles and duels, with the occasional exceptions, the Quincy had always worked on teamwork and group combat, and it was currently showing.

The two females perfectly complimented each other on a level that Renji and her simply couldn't match, especially after they had received upgraded abilities due to the Royal Guard, and thus weren't given the opportunity to train with each other using them.

Even worse was the fact that she knew that both of their _Bankais_ were new, and despite being tremendously powerful they simply hadn't had the time to fully master them. Her brother once claimed it took a hundred years to fully do so _after_ the full release had been achieved. Perhaps their opponents knew this and were forcing them to fight as a team rather than the individual battles that the two could specialize in?

The female they had run into before had taken the same approach as last time, that is attacking from range whenever it suited her and causing large scale destruction that was difficult to dodge or defend against.

Any attempts to attack her directly were either countered, with _Kido_ proving absolutely useless in this situation, or Keifer intercepting them. Apparently the new warrior was based almost solely on melee combat, meaning that she could match either of them in speed, and could give Renji pause in physical strength as well.

When the two had tried to assault the new girl then they were quickly put under bombardment from the other.

Attempting to split them up, with Renji taking one and herself taking the other, always ended with the two Quincy focusing down on one of them, thus forcing the other to come to their aid.

Of the four the only man present had taken the bulk of the visible damage, and was bleeding from quite a few places at this point.

"Hey Rukia, we need to do something different or else were going to either lose... or look like children when your brother comes and saves our useless asses."

The notion of having her brother come and save her... again... sent a chill down her spine. She wanted to _prove_ herself to him, not appear just as weak as before.

"Okay so what is your plan then?"

"Something stupid that will probably get me yelled at... but at least we will win."

The girl rolled her eyes at her friend's stupidity. One of these days she wasn't going to be able to bail him out... hopefully someone else would though. She couldn't imagine life without him.

"Alright bitches get ready to swoon and throw those panties at me, cause I'm about to bust out some dead sexy moves."

All three failed at containing the eye twitch that consumed them.

Rukia only _just_ managed to resist the urge to slap the crap out of the man.

" _Bankai!_ "

A moment later the man was revealed through a cloud of smoke to be in his new transformed state, wielding _Souou Zabimaru_.

"You may now swoon."

This time Rukia did slap him across the back of the head.

The two Quincy females glanced at each other, before Bambietta gestured for the other girl to go first.

Keifer grinned once more, " _Vollstandig: Creation of God_ "

The female Kuchiki's eyes widened in horror at the new form of the woman. A pair of sleek wings, like that found on a small bird, now grew from her back. Meanwhile the rest of her was even more dramatically changed. Her appearance was more... wolf-like than before. Her teeth appeared to be razor sharp and pointed, her hands now bore powerful claws, and she appeared covered in a dense fur.

Beneath that though the Shinigami could tell that her body had been altered as well. Powerful muscles were now evident across her body as well as a slight shift in her legs and arms to indicate speed and power.

Overall she appeared to be a monster, capable of tearing apart...

The realization hit the black haired girl like a swing from Zaraki. "Renji wait! The wounds on Captain Hirako... they match that... thing..."

Renji growled in annoyance. It was bad enough having to fight with a Zanpakuto that he hadn't had time to master to but now... facing down someone who had torn apart an experienced Captain, along with being a Visored... this wasn't going to be an easy battle.

 _***RitL***_

The giant had a bad feeling before they had even set foot in the Royal Realm. Tatsuki had been growing more and more unstable as time went on, focusing everything she had on her plans for revenge. Obviously none of them realized how much their friend had truly meant to her. Now she was focused solely on her target, which meant that it was now two separate battles against enemies that they might not be able to handle in single fights.

Gazing across at his opponent Chad let out a deep sigh, thus far he had been trying to wade through a seemingly endless army, and although they weren't able to do any serious damage to him due to his training and improved durability it was slowly wearing him down. Even worse was that every time he had nearly reached his opponent she just fled backwards, and continued the process while occasionally bombarding him with volleys of arrows.

Sparing a moment the quiet man glanced across to his ally, who didn't seem to be fairing any better. Tatsuki was covered in wounds, and her clothing nearly entirely soaked in blood from her opponent's assault. Apparently the woman had simply cloaked herself and taken to firing from a different location each time.

If it had been just the two of them they probably would have stood a chance. They could have teamed up against the woman and supported each other in a way she could have been tracked down and defeated.

Now though...

"QUIT TAKING ME LIGHTLY YOU BITCH!"

Again the giant sighed, why was his friend taunting the woman when she was already losing? Her frustration and rage were now becoming evident, but still they had a chance as long as...

" _Vollstandig: The Presence of God_ "

Now what were they going to do... the man had been present during the briefing concerning the enemy's ability to transform and dramatically increase their power. If the were losing before... well Chad was more than regretting not sticking with their allies, or at least convincing the Kurosaki twins to stay with them rather than letting them run off on their own errand.

Readying himself, the Fullbringer charged forward once more, perhaps if he could end his own battle fast enough he might be able to at least carry his friend off of the battlefield alive.

 _***RitL***_

The situation was beginning to become a bit aggravating to Byakuya Kuchiki. His two opponents seemed almost chosen specifically for him, and although this seemed a bit ludicrous to have been planned out it was beginning to make more and more sense as the battle wore on. The larger of the two was virtually impervious to any efforts he made with his _Shikai,_ and the other prevented him from utilizing _Kido_ to its full effect.

The only option, it seemed, was to activate his _Bankai_ and utterly remove one of them from the other. Based on the spiritual fluctuations from the nearby fight, he did not have time to spend formulating a well drawn out and complicated strategy. Rukia and Renji needed his assistance, and they needed it soon.

He would not fail her again.

With a brief flurry of _Shunpo_ the Captain appeared a dozen feet away, before dropping his sword towards the ground and activating it's full release.

" _Bankai_ "

At the same time the larger man began to charge, calling out his own ability. " _Vollstandig: Body of God"_

A literal river of pink petals swarmed forward, slamming into the man and consuming him in the endless tide of blades.

That is until an armored hand reached out through it, and grabbed a hold of the nobleman's forearm, breaking it without effort.

Byakuya reacted instantly, slicing off that part of his body so that further damage could not be escalated, he used a simple _Kido_ spell to cauterize the wound and prevent further blood loss while he retreated to a safe distance.

The man that ripped out of his attack was now covered in thick armor, and apparently unharmed from the vicious onslaught that he had attempted.

"Well don't you seem to be in a bit of a pickle eh Shinigami?" the other man called out, earning a glare for himself. Apparently Rukia and Renji would need to hold on for longer than he had anticipated.

 _***RitL***_

Another slash from his blade was easily avoided by the feral woman, and the red haired man was forced to block a group of explosive projectiles, which still pushed him back from the effort.

Things hadn't quite been going as well as he had been hoping. For one they had yet to deal any significant damage to either of their opponents. Worse was that the battle was beginning to have an obvious effect on them, not only their morale but also their stamina.

Rukia had faired the worst of all though, and had received quite a few substantial injuries. She always had been far less durable than their comrades and now it was very obvious.

"Psst hey Rukia."

The girl grunted as she dodged back from another attempt by their faster opponent to skewer her.

Finally the two Quincy seemed to back off for a moment.

"Yeah what is it?"

"I was just thinking... this isn't going very well for us."

"No shit Sherlock, but unless you have come up with some brilliant idea for us then..."

"What about your full release?"

The girl's head twisted around to face him, and Renji swore that he heard her neck crack in several places from it.

"Are you an idiot!? You know I can't control it yet, if I were to use it here you would be dead along with both of them. Plus there is also a decent chance it will do serious harm or even kill me in the process!"

"Okay, okay just making a suggestion... you know I'm starting to regret getting a new _Bankai_ from those assholes."

This time the raven haired girl looked rather curious, "why? I thought you said it was significantly more powerful and useful in combat."

"Oh it is, the problem, though, is that I had time to experiment and practice with my previous one. I have barely had my new one a week yet."

She nodded in agreement, what the hell had the Royal Guard been thinking anyway? Just because you can give someone _Bankai_ didn't mean they were ready to use it. The time they had spent training would have been far better used increasing the strength of the Captains, rather than just bringing Renji and her up to Captain level.

"You know... even if we beat them both, we are going to be exhausted."

"Yeah and?"

Rukia wasn't quite sure what her friend was getting at with this line of thought.

"And what do we do then? I mean what is the plan here Rukia? Hope all of the Captains make it through the first wave so that we can try and take down their leader? We both know that it won't end up like that. Most of us will probably be either dead or so injured we won't be able to help anyway. So then what? Hope Aizen takes him down and then goes back to being a prisoner? Face it... I don't think this story has a happy ending to it."

He was right, in that moment the horrible truth hit her. No matter what happened at this point there was very little chance that any of them would survive. The best they could hope for was mutually assured destruction, that if they died the enemy died with them.

 _***RitL***_

Clotilde gave a deep sigh, she knew that this would be the inevitable outcome to their duel, which was why she had tried so hard to convince the young girl's mind... she had already killed too many young people in this war.

But the stubborn human just kept pushing forward, it was a rather admirable trait, if it wasn't the thing about to get her killed. That and her loyalty to friendship. It was all for naught though, using her _Vollstandig_ the Sternritter could pick and choose what would be visible and what wouldn't be. This meant that she could hide a handful of arrows that were fired towards a different spot, making them nearly impossible to dodge. She could even cloak stationary objects, such as walls, allowing her to see through them while her opponent could not, or make it appear as though she was out in the open and vulnerable, whereas the truth was a barrier separated them.

It was a rather cruel technique, and one that the Quincy rather disliked if she were to be honest. But this was war, and often times one had to do terrible things in order to achieve peace for the future.

While the young black haired girl braced herself against a wall, panting and trying to ease the blood that was pouring from her, Clotilde took a moment to check on her ally.

Rille was far from being an expert duelist, and thus preferred, and excelled in, group combat. But she had agreed to keeping these two apart for the time being. Luckily it seemed to have worked. The large 'Fullbringer' appeared exhausted from his continuous fighting and dodging, from what they had been told none of the reinforcements had fought much in the previous war meaning that their experience in combat and stamina would be rather low in comparison to those who trained every day.

Her ally, that he was fighting, seemed relatively unharmed, save for a few minor bruises and burns from the ranged attacks that had surprised her.

Either way the battle would only last a few more minutes from what she could tell, and then they could move on to aid the others.

"H-hey... what are you looking at... this isn't over yet..." the young girl gasped out from nearby.

"You are wrong, this fight was over before it began. You have allowed your rage and hatred to cloud your judgment. If you are lucky it will not cost both your life and the life of your companion."

This seemed to have the desired effect, as Tatsuki glanced over towards the, equally stubborn, giant.

"Chad... I'm sorry..." she whispered out, before refocusing her attention on the impossible task at hand.

"You cannot defeat me with your abilities. Your power to cause explosions upon striking an object is impressive but it requires you to be in melee range, something that I will not allow. You have no way of detecting me unless I choose to allow it and..."

Any further explanation was interrupted, by the young human girl striking the wall behind her. The resulting explosion hurled her into the Quincy with speed that surprised them both, but it was her rage that allowed Tatsuki to recover first, and wrap an arm around the Sternritter's neck.

"You were saying... bitch!"

Despite her impressive strength they both knew that the girl would not be able to strangle her opponent. She was simply too exhausted and weakened at this point, so instead she did the only thing that her mind could come up with. Somewhere in her planning of vengeance she realized that flat out victory was nearly impossible, her opponent was simply leagues above her in every way. This meant that the only option she had of vengeance was complete surprise, or irrationally foolish.

She chose the latter of the two.

In her final moments Tatsuki saw the image of her friend reaching out to her, the girl who had been her best friend throughout her entire life, the one who she had always hoped would end up as something more. The girl with beautiful and warm eyes full of love calling to her one last time.

By converting nearly all of her remaining spiritual and life energy into raw power, something she had observed Chad being able to do during their training sessions, the teenager slammed her two fists together, resulting in a horrifically powerful eruption of fire and energy.

The resulting explosion blew the two adversaries to pieces, mangling their bodies in the way that war tended to do.

And finally Orihime had been avenged.

 _***RitL***_

Chad and Rille were thrown to the ground by a powerful shock wave, which damaged the nearby buildings and blew apart all of the glass windows in the area.

Instantly the man could tell what had just occurred. Tatsuki's spiritual presence was now completely gone, and the one she had been fighting against was to follow in only a few moments.

He had always had the suspicion that the girl knew that this would be her last fight, that she never _intended_ to walk away from it. Even if she survived his friend claimed to have nothing left to return to. Her family had always been cold and distant, and although she did have friends in Uryu, the two Kurosaki sisters, and himself, she seemed to have put any future happiness in the arms of the beautiful girl whose life had been taking during the first invasion.

Afterwards she had been more like a living corpse, barely functioning save for the one overriding goal.

Vengeance

Something it appeared she had just achieved.

"It appears as though your friend did what she came here for."

The man glanced up at the nearby Sternritter, who had a rather sorrowful expression on her face.

"Yes, I think deep down we all realized that one way or another... she wasn't coming back from this."

"A pity... this war has claimed so many lives on both sides... it has turned innocent people into corpses and killers, and taken more than any of us will ever realize."

"War claims all of those involved, even if we do not see it at the time. Those who survive will always be affected."

The woman nodded, before turning and beginning to walk away. "I trust you can find your own way back home? I have no interest in taking any more lives for a battle that we have already won. Go back to whatever friendship and family you still have and enjoy your life while you have it. Honor the dead but do not strive to follow them."

With that she vanished, leaving the quiet man alone to pick himself up and depart for their original arrival point.

 _***RitL***_

The head of the Kuchiki family was beginning to get a bit desperate. His defenses could not stand up to the ranged attacks of the one named 'Ubel', and any attacks he could try would not even harm the larger of the two. He had briefly attempted to switch it up, but any binding _Kido_ would not hold Adalgar for very long, and the other was fast and intelligent enough to avoid any direct attacks.

All in all it was becoming very bleak, until a rather simple strategy came to mind.

Drawing the rose petals back in Byakuya activated his ultimate technique, and emerged with a blazing white blade.

"Let us end this"

The large armor clad man nodded, before the two rushed forward. Dodging out of the way of the first swing the Shinigami impaled his opponent onto his blade, and then began pushing him backwards towards his ally, who could not obtain a clear shot in order to intervene.

Just as he thought the tactic would work, and allow him to slay the other, Ubel leaped over the two, and prepared to fire a volley into his exposed back.

Not that it would hit him though. Byakuya was fast enough to dodge the projectiles at such a range... or would have been if the larger man before him had not used the last of his remaining life to grab his shoulders and prevent his retreat.

A dozen arrows pierced his back and legs, earning a gasp of pain in response.

It was only due to the giant's weakening that he was able to slip out of his grip and dodge around him, using the man's body as a shield once more.

It was nearly over now, with his injuries Byakuya would not be able to aid his sister and lieutenant, he would be lucky to make it out of the battle alive at this point. The only thing left was to ensure that his only remaining opponent did not move on to harm any of his friends or family. That meant a bit of a digress in power.

Just as Ubel flanked around the cover to finish off his target he noticed that the surrounding area had turned pitch black, save for the rows of pink swords that now rotated.

" _VOLLSTANDIG: WARRIOR OF GOD!_ " the man roared out, in a final effort to kill his enemy before he himself was skewered by the overwhelming attack.

His own attacks launched, dozens of weapons formed from his spiritual energy, just as the newly formed swords of his opponent came crashing down.

It was rather... beautiful the Quincy realized, as he watched his own creations be countered by his opponent's. The Captain's control over his technique was a thing of elegance and power, far beyond his own.

A second later he was impaled from a dozen directions, and fell to the ground dead.

Moments following that the proud Captain of Squad six slowly began making his way towards the two people he cared about most in his life. The only two left that mattered, even if just to see them one last time.

 _***RitL***_

" _Vollstandig: The Wrath of God_ "

The Two Shinigami watched on in horror as their other opponent gained a pair of bright golden wings made of pure energy, and a halo to match.

Moments later a massive explosion consumed the redhead, dropping him down to on knee.

"RENJI!"

"This battle is over, my transformed state allows me to make anything I want combustible, that means the ground beneath your feat, the air around your body, even the clothing that protects you can be turned into a bomb. There is no escape from us. You can't dodge because there are no projectiles, you can't defend because it will ignore any shield or barrier you can think of. This match is over."

Rukia hated to admit it... but she was right. With her exhaustion and substantial injuries she posed no threat to them, and with Renji's _Bankai_ dissipating it showed that he no longer had the strength to fight back either. The two were at their enemy's mercy. Maybe they would make their end quick? Perhaps some last minute sympathy for the fallen pride of the Shinigami? At least Byakuya would...

"Rukia?"

Her blood froze, and not due to her _Zanpakuto's_ ability. Turning her head the girl's heart nearly gave out, her brother stood a dozen feet away, leaning against a building and covered in blood. One arm was partially missing and it looked as if he was about to fall over and die at any moment. To see such a proud and powerful man reduced to such a state... Rukia failed to stop the tears that flowed down her face.

"Nii-Sama..."

"Are you... okay?"

Even as injured as he was... her brother thought of her first. It was all she could do to nod.

"That is good... I wanted to see you one last time before..."

"D-don't say that... you will be okay! We will all be okay and then we can go back and live together in peace! Everything will be okay!"

The older man smiled at her, perhaps for the first time ever, a genuine smile.

Of course they had forgotten the two Sternritter standing nearby, who now had the opportunity to conduct a private conversation.

"Hey Bambietta, isn't that..."

"Byakuya Kuchiki, looks like he managed to take both Adalgar and Ubel down..."

"Impressive, do you think we should..."

Suddenly the feral woman was reminded of a scene during the first invasion. Her friend Joli and she had just stumbled onto the remains of Irmine, and her fellow Quincy's cries of sorrow were heartbreaking. She never wanted to hear such a sound again... from anyone.

"...Let them go..."

Bambietta spun around to face her friend, to suggest such a thing was... but then she too remembered Ichigo asking her to spare his sister's if she ran into them. The Quincy focused on family above all else, and was that not what the three warriors before them represented?

"Hey brat"

The shout seemed to remind Rukia that they were still technically in a battle, and one hand went to her blade, while the other wrapped around her friend protectively.

"Do you know enough medical techniques to save your brother?"

The question seemed to shut her brain down as she began stuttering in contemplation. Eventually she nodded. "Y-yes I should be able to... I don't know about bringing him back to full strength but..."

"That's fine, so here's the deal. You save him and take them out of here. You stay away from the Quincy and give up on trying to kill us... and we let you three live and walk away."

'To make such an offer... if they are serious then this is our _only_ chance to live through this... but can I really speak for Nii-Sama and Renji? What about the others? Can I abandon them to this fight just to save myself and...' It was then that Rukia realized it didn't really matter. She would either survive with Renji and Byakuya, or the three of them would be dead.

"I agree"

The two Quincy nodded, seemingly very satisfied with her answer, before taking their leave.

All of the tension flowed from the poor girl as she released the breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding.

The warm chuckle was the only warning she had from her brother, before she managed to catch him as he fell forward. Luckily her skill in the medical arts was high enough that he would survive, though he would undoubtedly never fight again.

Still they had a chance... a chance to live, and a chance was more than enough for Rukia Kuchiki.

 _***RitL***_

The two sisters sat for a moment in silence, before Karin shrugged. Yuzu, on the other hand, decided to go into a bit more detail.

"We have been told that he is the 'lynch pin' and that without him the World falls apart."

"Ah, just what I expected the Shinigami to believe. In actuality none of that is true."

The dark haired girl's eyes narrowed. They had been warned about their brother trying to deceive them and they had already dealt with this sort of crap from... well everyone, so she wanted to be sure before just believing whatever he said.

"And what proof do you have of this?"

"The world hasn't fallen apart has it?"

The two girls looked dumbfounded at such an obvious explanation.

"The truth is that the Soul King is responsible for much of how the Spiritual World works. The reason Shinigami exist is because he created them originally."

"So then he isn't bad after all? Why is everyone trying to kill him?"

"Oh he is _very_ bad. The reason is _why_ the Shinigami were created. You see The Soul King didn't _just_ create the Shinigami... he created Hollows too."

This time both girl's jaws dropped. Either their friends didn't know... or something was terribly wrong.

"Yeah that part isn't as well known. Both of these races were created in order to disrupt the cycle of reincarnation that naturally exists. Like I said the last time we met, when a Quincy kills something it doesn't just cease to exist, it actually forces reincarnation immediately, thus bypassing Hueco Mundo, Hell, the Soul Society, or any other afterlife.

That is the problem.

The Soul King is... well was, a monster that _fed_ on spiritual energy. All of the energy in the various realms of the dead sustained and allowed him to grow stronger. Which is why we have the various races."

The male paused to allow his sisters to digest the information, then continued on.

"The Shinigami perform _Konso_ to move souls onto Soul Society. Hollows devour souls and then move back to Hueco Mundo..." Ichigo nodded at the conclusions that the young brunette was reaching.

"The only energy that he _couldn't_ feed on was the energy from living human beings, which is why he had to disrupt reincarnation. By killing a soul the Quincy remove it from his grasp and force it back into the living world as life. The 'balance' was just him being able to feed."

The two looked horrified, and Yuzu a bit nauseous, at the new knowledge.

"So, what will happen now that he is dead?"

"Well currently things just slowly get back to normal. The natural 'balance' begins to restore itself as the Hollows and Spirits in the Soul Society eventually move on. With our help most of the creatures from Hueco Mundo will be forcibly brought back into the cycle. Soul Society will be left alone to just naturally fade back into equilibrium, unless of course they want to move on immediately. In that case we are preparing a painless way to do so."

"Wait," Yuzu spoke up, suddenly focusing in on something, "if that is true then why are the Quincy different? What makes you able to 'kill souls' while the Shinigami don't?"

"Simple, because my father, Yhwach, is the son of the Soul King. He was created in order to govern the World of the Living and perpetuate war. By doing so it would drastically increase the number of souls available, especially with all of the ghosts and evil spirits that would be unable to move on. Those would then be 'purified' or devoured by one of the other two main factions. My father rebelled though and began the Quincy, who found that by using their own bloodlines they could skip over the process and indirectly harm the monster. So you see, the Soul King was a cancer unto this world, slowly devouring everything around us. That is the main reason that the upper districts of the Soul Society are so horrific. The souls there are more aware of his influence, although it is subconscious at that level, thus they are tormented and try to alleviate pain by killing and destroying everything. It is only due to the Shinigami's presence that those closer to the Seireitei are able to avoid this fate."

"Doesn't that mean that _all_ of Soul Society will fall apart now?" The idea that innocent people would begin losing their minds was terrifying to Yuzu.

"Nah, despite the fact that the Shinigami aren't there to help the stress the Soul King is dead. This is actually the best case scenario for them. My guess is that within a few more weeks you will see survivors from districts seventy-nine and eighty begin to humanize and move inwards to find food and shelter. Sure it will be difficult to deal with at first, but eventually it will be all worth it. Of course we will be helping in anyway we can as well."

"Ichigo... that is..."

The orange-haired boy smiled, as the brunette threw herself around him in a hug, one that he happily returned.

Moments later his other sister joined in, thus marking the first hug between all three siblings that either girl could recall, and to each it felt... right.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _For a thousand years he had focused on vengeance and justice against those who had done them wrong, it was time for him to face judgment himself._

 _A few minutes passed before the door quietly opened, and then shut again behind his two opponents. Glancing up he gave them both the slightest of nods._

" _Welcome, Isshin Kurosaki, Ryuken Ishida. I have been expecting you."_

 _***Omake: Tatsuki's Vengeance***_

Tatsuki strode down the street towards her destiny, towards the one goal that she had been seeking above all us since her friend's demise, towards...

"Hey hold the fuck on, why the hell did I die _again_?"

The author paused, that was odd... he hadn't written that.

"Yeah no shit asshole, I want an answer to my question. Two stories now... TWO and I am dead in both, with practically no part what so ever."

"Uh well you see..."

"Don't feel bad Tatsuki-chan, I was only in this one for less than a paragraph before I was killed." Orihime pointed out from... where ever she was.

"Yeah see! At least this time you got some bad ass fire exploding hands... things..." the author attempted, although it sounded more like a whine.

"Only because that was what I did in the filler! You are too lazy to even think something creative up!"

"Uh well that is because um..."

"Well? Come on, I want a freaking answer!"

"I... didn't want to show off how bad ass you were since you played such a small role in this story."

The black haired tomboy paused, before motioning to continue on.

"Yeah! I have all these _really cool_ ideas for you but I am saving them for my _next_ Bleach fanfic, one where you _and_ Orihime are gonna be much more important, almost main characters even!"

"Oh?"

"Of course! You will even have a romantic relationship in that one!"

"That's pretty cool, who is it... I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU PUT ME IN A FUCKING HAREM I WILL SHANK YOU!"

"What of course not! No harem in my Bleach stories. You and your... partner... will be in a monogamous partnership."

"Okay, so who is it with then?"

"Seriously? I think I have been hinting at it enough by now. You two held hands in the brief scene during my first story, you are practically in love with her during this one..."

"Orihime?"

"Yup! I always thought you two were a cute couple. Plus that avoids the 'Naruto effect' that occurs in canon."

"Naruto effect?"

"Yeah you know, the painfully shy girl that the main character barely notices, is basically his stalker, and hardly ever speaks to him, then in a convenient time skip they end up together because it is such a 'well developed relationship' or some bullshit. But really if the roles were switched the guy would be seen as a _total_ creeper."

"Good point, okay fine I will give you a chance next story. But I swear to you if I end up as anything _less_ than epic..."

"Nope epic to the max, promise."

The girl nodded, before continuing down her lonely road of vengeance, the only one that she would accept, the only path that...

"GOD WE GET IT ALREADY I WANT REVENGE!"

***A/N***

*Thanks to Cinder for pointing out that I still had Irmine classified as -deceased-... whoops!

*Also to answer "DemonBloodFeeder", since I can't PM, Yoruichi is alive. I will change her status should she die to avoid confusion.

Another round of battles gone... and actually we are getting fairly close to the end of the story, which makes me both excited and sad.

Byakuya got a fairly, in my opinion, bad ass battle, and while Tatsuki and Chad kind of got crap... I still feel it is better than they got in the _actual Manga_. At least Chad got something... even if it wasn't much.

Most important in this chapter though was the last scene. Now we all know _why_ the Soul King was targeted, and what everyone kept alluding to all throughout the story. I think it fits rather well, and makes the entire plot of the Quincy seem more interesting than "Yhwach wants to destroy the world because reasons... or something..."

As for my Omake, I do have another Bleach story planned, although it will not be written for some time yet. Thus far I have one fanfic focusing on the Hollows, one on the Quincy... which means the next will be a far more 'canon' story line where Ichigo sticks with the Shinigami. This means that Chad, Uryu, Tatsuki, and Orihime will all be far more important and actually get development and fun stuff... oh so many cool plans for that already...

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Yhwach

Ichigo

Jugo

Mask

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orihime - _deceased_ -

The Royal Guard - _deceased-_

Aizen Sosuke

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A **The Ascension** Ichigo

B **The Blade** Jugram

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F **The Freedom** Joli

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God - _deceased_ -

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar – The Body of God - _deceased_ -

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille – The Army of God

M **The Mirror** Lothar - God's Reflection

N **The Noise** Xaros – My God's Answer

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** – Clovis – God's Chariot - _deceased_ -

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina – Protection of God

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde – The Presence of God - _deceased-_

V **The Volatile** Bambietta -The Wrath of God

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God - _deceased_ -

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

The Royal Guard

Love

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku

Nanao

Omaeda

Hiyori

Tatsuki


	24. Justice Be Done

**Raised in the Light**

Justice Be Done

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

Hitsugaya froze mid step, allowing Hinamori to catch up with him a second later. He had sensed a familiar presence just up ahead, and knew _exactly_ who it was.

"Momo, you need to stay back here. I don't want you getting hurt."

"What!? I'm not letting you go on alone."

"This man is… dangerous and unpredictable. I can't be worrying about you _and_ fighting him at the same time. Just stay back… please?"

The young girl gave a pout, before nodding her head slowly, "you _better_ come back Toshiro… I intend to make up for lost time after the war is over, _understand?_ "

The boy blushed a deep crimson and the innuendo, before nodding. Apparently, his best friend was tired of waiting for him to make the first move.

Leaping forward the boy came to a halt in the next clearing, and standing across from him was his opponent.

"So, we meet again eh Captain Hitsugaya?"

"It appears so Sternritter Kort."

The rematch had begun.

 _***RitL***_

"Well hello there beautiful"

The woman turned, and gave a surprisingly fierce glare towards the flirtatious Captain. "You must be Commander Shunsui."

"Indeed I am… I don't recall hearing about you though. Any chance I could get your name?"

"I am Joli, my letter is **F** for the **Freedom**."

"Ah what a lovely name for such a lovely woman. Now please don't break my heart and tell me that there is a Mr. Freedom as well…"

"There will be after this war is over, I'm spoken for."

"Ah such a pity, well I have always hated fighting the fairer sex so if you will just let me pass I will…"

Immediately the Captain dodged in a blur of _Shunpo_ , barely avoiding the arrow that pierced through the ground he had been standing on moments prior.

"Well that wasn't very nice…"

Surprisingly the woman did not even have a weapon drawn, meaning that the attack had come from…

Again, the laid back Captain dodged, only this time he traced back the source, a man sitting on a nearby rooftop.

"Ah hello there other Quincy-San, and who might you be?"

"Greetings to you as well Commander-Sama. My name is Gerhard, but you can call me **Zenith** if you like."

"Please do not tell me this is your husband to be. I do so hate dealing with married couples, they are such a bother."

"Oh no my fiancé is far more handsome," the woman replied, before shouting up to her comrade, "no offense Gerhard."

"None taken, Jugram is a lucky man." The Sternritter called back with a warm smile.

"Jugram eh? That sounds a bit familiar, well if he is a Quincy then he will be on the list eventually…"

"Good luck with that. If you manage to take us both down and find Jugo… you will wish for death before he is done with you."

The Shinigami chuckled, before unleashing his _Shikai_. "Well if that is the case let us just go with the flow and see what happens shall we?"

 _***RitL***_

"I see you have learned a bit from last time. I wonder though, what would your strategy have been if it wasn't _me_ that you ran into?" Kort questioned, as he dodged backwards, once again out of the younger boy's reach.

The Quincy was impressed though, after their last battle the young 'genius' had taken the initiative to change rather than just staying static. Thus far he hadn't launched a single ranged attack or used any sort of ice ability. He had simply stuck to just attacking with his sword. Unfortunately, this also meant that the battle had reverted to the classic contest between Shinigami and Quincy. A bow versus a blade.

Dodging another quick slash the Sternritter fired a barrage of arrows at his opponent, who parried several of them before dodging out of the way to avoid the rest.

"Impressive, you really have taken your weaknesses to heart. I must say you are quite the adversary Captain Hitsugaya."

"You as well, I thought for sure that I would have at least injured you by now, that you would be completely dependent on your ability. But apparently I was mistaken."

Their odd duel continued, with neither making any noticeable progress, that is until the shorter man surprised the Quincy with a sudden _Shunpo_ allowing him inside the other man's guard and delivering a quick slash across his chest. It wasn't a deep cut, barely enough to do any real damage, but the effect had been far more psychological. Hitsugaya had done the first real damage in their rematch.

 _***RitL***_

'It is rather irritating, dealing with both of them at the same time' Shunsui pondered, as he flowed around another volley, attempting to close the distance with his female opponent only to be forced into a backwards dodge by a shot from the sniper.

'I really do need to kill one of them before I am injured… if not then what would the others think of such a situation? How could I face my own soldiers if I myself cannot complete my task?'

This time the man swung his blades, producing a whirlwind and launching it at Joli. He would remove her temporarily, and then kill the man before returning. Obviously, the male was the more dangerous opponent, if the destruction he could cause with a single shot was any indication.

As she became enveloped he flashed towards the one named 'Gerhard' and attempted to push him into melee instead.

A barrage of arrows passed in front of him, and only his reflexes stopped him from taking serious damage.

Apparently, the girl was far better at escaping his tricks than he realized, that meant he would need to resort to more… colorful means.

"How about we all agree to play a game, since all of us stuck together for the time being. Games are a wonderful way to pass the time after all. I'll start…"

With that the man pushed his _Shunpo_ to the limit, appearing directly in front of the girl just as he muttered out "white".

He was rewarded with the intended counter attack from the man above him being deflected away. His _Zanpakuto_ was strong enough to even deflect a Quincy's techniques, once it was weakened, it seemed. In a blur he had removed his two outer cloaks, and switched the color to 'black' before swinging down towards some of the few colored objects on the girl's uniform.

He didn't want to eliminate her in such a way, it being such a cruel thing, but he figured that the man might be easier to take out once he lacked any sort of distraction.

His blade cut into her, eliciting a hiss of pain. Before the woman leaped backwards and fired at him again.

"White"

In that moment, he had missed something that was obviously wrong, he had sliced into the girl but had only done _minor_ damage. That in itself should have been a clue… but his focus was already elsewhere, he knew that with the change in color she couldn't hurt him. Thus, he dropped his guard, underestimating his opponent for the first time.

He paid for it as the arrow tore into his shoulder.

Only through years of fighting with Ukitake and Yamamoto were his instincts sharpened to such a degree that he instantaneously moved away, putting distance between both of the Sternritter and allowing him to assess what had just happened.

He had been shot, but it shouldn't have been possible. The game only allowed _one_ color at a time and he knew that no one had changed it from 'white'. Anytime that the game was altered he could feel the slight ping in his own energy as an alert.

So how could she harm him?

"I think you misunderstood me Commander Shunsui. My letter is **F** for the **Freedom**. Due to this I am not _forced_ to play your games as you think. I am _free_ of all outside influences if I see fit."

The man's eyes widened in shock. Such a simplistic ability, and relatively useless against so many of his comrades, would be absolutely devastating against a select handful. Aizen might not be able to use his _Shikai_ against her. Shinji would have been nullified, even binding _Kido_ might have failed…

Apparently Yhwach was far craftier and more intelligent than they had given him credit for.

This time he felt the slight tingling, as the woman called out "black".

But why? He was covered in the color and thus any sort of attack against him would be virtually harmless.

Again, he paid for his underestimations as a projectile fired from the top of a building completely pierced through his leg.

 _***RitL***_

Toshiro Hitsugaya was not considered a 'genius' for nothing. He was far more clever and analytical than anyone had ever given him credit for… and now it was showing.

After their first fight the white-haired boy had known that he would be the only one fit to take the Quincy on again, and thus had memorized his fleeting signature so that he could locate it during the next battle. Not only that but he had begun training. Building his skills and power so that he could counteract his opponent.

But he didn't just stop there. No, he needed to be one hundred percent certain of his victory, to remove any doubt in his mind. Thus, he had gone back to their original battlefield, and located the subtle, yet traceable, evidence of the man's preset 'domains'.

Then he studied them.

Now all of that had paid off, and Hitsugaya smirked at the Quincy's frown.

"Something wrong Kort-San?"

"You maneuvered me away from all of my areas… that wasn't very nice of you."

"Well what can I say. You brought out the best in me."

"So it seems… man how troublesome, why couldn't I have gotten someone more thick headed… like the Visored or something…"

"Because I purposely sought you out." The boy explained, reveling in his 'master plan' being revealed.

"Well yeah I knew that. I meant why couldn't I have ended up fighting them during the _first_ invasion. That way you wouldn't have had a reason to look for me during this one. At least that way I could have taken you down without any trouble…"

This time the boy let out a slight growl, "guess that just sucks to be you… HYORIMARU!"

The Sternritter sighed, before leaping out of the way from the ice dragon. But he hadn't been fast enough to dodge the icicles that fired from the resulting carnage.

"Damnit, now I'm bleeding even more. Man, Xaros is _never_ going to let me hear the end of this…"

"It won't be a problem when you are dead, I assure you."

"True… guess I better take this seriously then huh? _Vollstandig:…"_

It had been just what the genius was waiting for. After analyzing the little battle data they had Urahara had come to the conclusion that they could _only_ steal a full release when they weren't in their own.

Meaning… " _Bankai!_ "

Toshiro pushed forward, charging towards the man at full speed to skewer him before his ability could come into effect.

That is until after he took a step, and found himself launched into the air, almost as if he was weightless.

"What the hell!?"

" _The Kingdom of God"_

'Shit' the boy cursed inwardly, he had waited too long and given his opponent too much distance. He should have brought himself much closer before pushing the man to that extent.

"My initial ability allows me to create 'domains' in which I can make a fundamental change. With this all things are under my control within the area of my spiritual presence. I can change anything I _desire_ now… even fundamental forces such as Gravity."

'Shit'

 _***RitL***_

"Sorry about taking advantage of the situation like that Shinigami-Sama, but you were quite rude to Joli earlier on and well… I rather like her fiancé. I don't think he would have liked your flirtatious attitude. I promised him that I would look out for her so just think of me as the overprotective big brother if you will." Gerhard shouted from high up.

'Great, the one thing that is even _worse_ than an angry woman… her older brother trying to get in the way.'

"You two seem to have me at a bit of a disadvantage. You know all about me yet I know almost nothing about you… mind sharing?" came the response.

Joli shook her head, she had already given the man enough information for one battle.

The male Sternritter, on the other hand, seemed far too willing to be helpful.

"Of course Commander-Sama. You see it is fate that we met in battle. My power is very much the same as yours. I create an area of influence with my spiritual energy and affect people within that. Only my game is far simpler. Whoever is the highest… is the strongest."

With that the man shot up into the sky, before firing down another single arrow towards the Captain.

This time, though, Shunsui knew what was coming. If the man's power was strong enough to completely negate his own, then it would not be something to take chances with. His suspicions were confirmed as he dodged clear from the path, only to be thrown forward slightly by the resulting explosion. Behind him now lay a large crater, created by a single shot.

"Well that is rather… terrifying…"

 _***RitL***_

Gravity was a relatively easy force to compensate for, he could fly after all. Air resistance too could be dealt with, despite the man making it _drastically_ harder for him to fly with his wings he could still manage. Then there was the whole 'decreasing the melting point of ice'. This had only shortened his _Bankai's_ time limit by a few minutes before the genius had compensated by nearly continuously refreezing the surrounding air.

It wasn't all of that, no it was the fact that the man appeared to be _playing_ with him. His enemy was continuously changing the variables just to see how he would respond… and it was getting rather irritating.

"STOP TOYING WITH ME!"

The boy sent a wave of ice towards the man, who didn't even try to move this time. Moments later it became clear why as the attack _shattered_ upon impact with him, breaking apart like the weakest of glass.

"Changed the tensile strength of ice" the man called out with a smile, which just proceeded to further Toshiro, who was not a fan of being lectured like a child.

" _Hyoten Hyakkaso_ "

"Oh come on now, you _know_ we observed your fight with the Arrancar. Why would you even _bother_ trying the same technique again?"

"Just because you've seen it does not mean you can stop it"

The man merely sighed, watching as the petals began falling towards him, only to immediately evaporate away.

 _***RitL***_

'So, what now Mr. Supreme Commander of the Seireitei Forces?' Shunsui pondered as he dodged out of the path of yet another potentially lethal attack. 'You cannot affect her with your _Shikai_ , and he can probably take you out with just a lucky attack, and that is _with_ your maximum defense.'

It was all becoming rather… troublesome. If he attacked her it would be incredibly difficult to take her out _while_ avoiding Gerhard's attacks. Sure, he had managed to surprise her one time but now…

He could try an offensive _Kido_ but at their levels it would require an incantation which would immediately be anticipated.

Attempting to attack the other man, as he had found out, was a rather daunting task in and of itself. The **Z** was shockingly fast and agile, and the one time he had attempted to close the distance… well he found himself being attacked from both above and below.

Of course this did not rule out his _Bankai_ … sure the girl _might_ be immune to it but the other Quincy certainly was not. Which meant that he could remove the man, and then take his other opponent out moments later.

It would have to do for now.

" _Bankai_ "

" _Vollstandig: Freedom from God"_

'Curious, I wonder what her enhanced state will…', "Ah shit, come on…"

The two Quincy stood, completely unaffected by the water that now seemed to fill the area. That meant that her ability most likely allowed her to pass on that immunity to _others_ as well. She truly was the perfect weapon to counter him.

 _***RitL***_

Toshiro Hitsugaya watched on in shock as one of his most powerful techniques completely and utterly failed before his very eyes.

"I increased the rate of convection, which means that the ice evaporated much faster due to its decreased melting point. Really is quite simple if you think about it."

The Shinigami growled once more, he was becoming more and more annoyed as time went on, which becoming was dangerous for him.

"If you think I am just going to give up then…"

Suddenly the boy found it increasingly difficult to breathe, and he was quickly becoming light headed.

"Wha… are yo…"

"Save your breath Captain-San. I decreased the air density in select spots. Basically, you are slowly being suffocated due to lack of oxygen."

Raising his blade the Shinigami prepared another attack, a counter attack, something... but with his vision blurring he knew it was over. There was no way to figure out exactly _where_ the air was safe, or even if there was a safe place. Even if he could get out of the trapped area he would be far too weak and confused to dodge any sort of attacks.

Once again, he had lost to this man. Once again, he had…

"Toshiro!"

"Momo… no please don't…"

He lost consciousness just as the shape of his friend emerged from the blurry surroundings.

 _***RitL***_

After being forced to cancel his ultimate technique, in order to avoid wasting energy, Shunsui finally came up with another strategy. It was a bit crude but war called for extreme measures.

First, he managed to get close enough to kick Joli hard enough into a building that it momentarily stunned her, and then unleashed a massive _Kido_ blast into the tower that the other was standing upon. With the damage done, the structure crumbled and fell, allowing Shunsui to shoot up into the air

Luckily, he had been quick enough that Gerhard hadn't caught onto his plan in time, especially when he had been muttering out the incantation for a high-level _Kido_ spell.

As he passed the man he caught sight of his expression change, from confusion to concern. They both knew that he was faster in an all-out race, which meant that _he_ would possess the advantage of height, not his opponent.

As he reached the summit of his trajectory the commander unleashed his attack, and sent a massive blast of fire down towards the Sternritter.

He only _just_ managed to hear the words that sent a spike of fear down his spine, " _Vollstandig: God above all others_ ".

His spell failed miserably, not even appearing to harm the man, who raised his bow and fired, putting a massive hole into the Shinigami's chest.

 _***RitL***_

Momo Hinamori knew that she was _very_ skilled in _Kido_. She had been praised by several Captains, and most of the other lieutenants due to her ability in this, she also knew that her swordsmanship was decent enough, and her _Shikai_ was nothing to scoff at.

That being said, she was also very aware of her limitations. Taking on an enemy who had defeated a Captain, a genius at that, and still looked combat ready was far beyond what the girl could handle.

"I-I… I won't let you kill him" she managed to stutter out, ignoring the fear that threatened to grip her heart and never let go. She was afraid, terrified even, of the situation she now found herself in. Not only was there a _very_ good chance she would die here… but her best friend would as well. Maybe if she could cause some sort of distraction… 'then what?' her inner voice, laced heavily with sarcasm, inquired. 'You manage to distract the man who defeated him and then what do you do? Take Toshiro and run? Pretend like you are going to escape a Captain level opponent _while_ carrying someone? How are you going to get back without him noticing? Where are you going to hide?'

'I have to try _something_ '

"Oh? and what are you going to do to stop me?"

"I… I will fight you if I have to."

"Hmmm an interesting proposition. I've only encountered one Shinigami thus far so maybe battling another would make things more interesting…"

The girl nodded, ignoring the slight shaking in her hands, before drawing her blade and assuming the standard defensive stance.

"But on the other hand, I have things to do and such… do take good care of your friend now, and make sure he eats his veggies so that he grows big and strong." The man added with a laugh, before turning and leaving the area.

Hinamori, on the other hand, was frozen in place, wide eyed in shock and trying to process what _the hell_ had just happened.

 _***RitL***_

The two Quincy watched as their opponent fell back towards the city, his body making no attempts to slow down. This had been the final indication of his demise.

They had both felt his spiritual energy vanish, but he was a Captain after all, many of them were able to hide their energy to gain an advantage in combat. But when the two had approached his broken remains… there was no longer any doubt.

"How did you do that Gerhard? I thought that your power meant that whoever was higher than the other did more damage?"

"It does, but my true form allows me to change the perspective of height. From my point of view _I_ was higher, and thus it became as such."

"That is… really scary…"

"This coming from you? Aren't you the one who is able to change what rules affect each person? You could have easily removed all advantages that his _Zanpakuto_ gave him while continuing them on us. You are the scary one here, not me."

"Only when dealing with _specific_ enemies…"

The man shrugged, before walking back towards the Sternritter rendezvous point with his friend.

 _***RitL***_

Yhwach let out a deep sigh for what felt like the fifth time as he recalled the argument that had come up between his two sons and himself. Of course he saw their point of view, and even agreed with it, but the fact of the matter was that this had to happen… it _needed_ to happen.

He had done things… terrible things to his fellow Quincy.

Ichigo had been one of those harmed by his actions, and even if the boy himself denied it he could still see that it had a slight effect on him even to this day.

This was why he had ordered them to stick with the plan, and not to intervene against the two warriors who had managed to evade the other Sternritter.

For a thousand years, he had focused on vengeance and justice against those who had done them wrong, it was time for him to face judgment himself.

A few minutes passed before the door quietly opened, and then shut again behind his two opponents. Glancing up he gave them both the slightest of nods.

"Welcome, Isshin Kurosaki, Ryuken Ishida. I have been expecting you."

 _***RitL***_

The two fathers stood facing the Quincy lord, both scowling in anger at the man.

"So, you know why we are here then?" Isshin called out, a fierce determination in his eyes.

"Of course, I took both of your wives from you. I have ensured that we will not be interrupted. My two sons were… most insistent that they be allowed to aid me."

"Your _one_ son. Ichigo is _not_ your child." Surprisingly it was Ryuken who had snapped the comment out, his protectiveness as a father and friend coming into play once again.

"And yet you are not aiding your own child… why is that?"

"Uryu can take care of himself, and was sent along with Tessai… who I approve of. The _Kido_ master will keep him from harm."

"Indeed, I am curious about one thing though, are either of you fighting for anything _other_ than vengeance? With my father dead and the Seireitei in ruins there seems to be little other reason for this battle."

"How about to get my son back!?"

The elder man glanced over at the Shinigami for a moment before answering, "If that was your goal then shouldn't you have gone with your two daughters and simply _talked_ to him instead? He seems to have bonded with them quite easily after all."

This seemed to wake the man up like a bucket of ice water thrown onto him.

"I doubt you would _allow_ the boy to leave on his own free will, despite your claims otherwise." The white-haired Quincy pointed out.

"Believe what you will, I have never imprisoned any of my children."

"Enough of this. Let us end this battle once and for all Yhwach!"

The man nodded, and then brought forth his weapon.

 _***RitL***_

A grunt of pain escaped the eldest Ishida's lips as he was kicked across the room once again. Thus far the battle had not exactly been going in their favor.

'Understatement of the year' the man bitterly thought, as he glanced up to watch his ally attempt, and fail, and harming the lord of the Quincy.

They had tried dozens of tactics, strategies, and plans… and not one of them had even come _close_ to working.

Flanking maneuvers had been easily avoided, surprise attacks countered before they could even take place, combination attacks cast aside as if they were mere annoyances, and any sort of deception ended with the man before them being the one with the advantage.

He was simply too strong, too powerful, too intelligent, too _experienced_ to be caught off guard. Yhwach had lived through dozens wars and had centuries of battle knowledge surpassing that of the two of them _combined_. The only ones who posed _any_ threat to him were probably going to be engaged by the man's 'adopted sons'.

Even if Aizen, Urahara, and Zaraki could win… they would be in no shape to take down this warrior, this God.

Even worse was the man's own claims that Jugram was near his own level… and that Ichigo had long since surpassed him. If the facts were true, and the orange-haired boy really _was_ responsible for the destruction of Squad Zero… then there would be no victory against him.

Ryuken could already sense other battles beginning to come to a close. His son, though defeated, was thankfully alive, along with many other Shinigami forces.

The problem was that the Quincy were _obviously_ winning. Which meant that there would most likely be no reinforcements for their side. Even Shihoin herself was painfully low on spiritual energy at this point, and with a few allies flat out abandoning the fight, such as the two sisters, there was very little chance of their victory.

The father was brought out of his contemplation by the sound of his friend crashing against the wall next to him. Apparently Yhwach had grown bored of their 'duel' as well.

With another grunt Ryuken pushed himself off the ground and fired another round of arrows, which were easily swept aside.

"You truly believe that you can defeat _me_ with a bow? I was the first being to ever use such a weapon. Do not consider us equals in this regard Ishida. The only one who could ever make such a claim would be Ichigo, just as Jugo would be one of the few who can claim to rival my skill with the blade."

That sent a shiver down both men's spines as the two Quincy began a rapid fire ranged battle, where they constantly vanished and reappeared before firing volley after volley at each other.

 _***RitL***_

The two fathers were running out of ideas... and they both knew it. Isshin had been hoping to wear their opponent down enough that his ultimate technique would finish him off quickly, his technique became very draining after all, and if he utilized it for too long then he wouldn't be much of a threat afterwards. But at this rate... well if he didn't do something drastic, and stupid, soon then they wouldn't have a chance of winning anyway.

'Looks like we don't have much of a choice' the Shinigami thought with a grimace, as another arrow exploded near his friend, tossing him a dozen feet backwards and causing more strain on his armor.

" _Bankai_ "

The Quincy lord glanced over, at the man whose _Zanpakuto_ now had a faint glow to it.

"Ah, so this is the fabled _Netsuoki Engetsu*_. It is as impressive as I believed it would be."

"You know if you were a woman I might take that as a compliment... as it is though you just sound like a creep."

The man scowled, before summoning forth his own sword once more.

Both warriors leapt forward and clashed blades, with Isshin's sending out sparks and tiny embers from his.

Just as Yhwach recalled, each tiny projectile then began a fire where it fell, forcing him to retreat out of the spot he was standing in.

This time the Shinigami swung his blade forth, sending a literal wave of the tiny bolts which formed another small blaze... which quickly grew larger and more intense as time went on.

A volley of arrows was dodged by the former Captain who, once again, sprinted forward and engaged in a contest of sheer swordsmanship. Although Isshin would never be able to straight out win, his ability to set the area around them ablaze quickly forced the older man to retreat.

Soon the room became more and more engulfed in fire as it spread along the floor and walls.

"What's wrong Yhwach?" Isshin called out, calmly walking through the flames that would not harm any he commanded them not to, much to Ryuken's relief, "is this fight getting you a bit 'hot under the collar'?"

"It certainly is an impressive technique Isshin Kurosaki. Flames that cannot be extinguished spreading forth from your blade. If it were not for Yamamoto's own blade then you would undoubtedly have the most powerful flame based _Zanpakuto_ in existence."

He smirked at the compliment.

"Unfortunately I also know of the _weakness_ of your full release." the smirk turned into a frown, "the flames cannot be doused because they are fed by your own spiritual energy. The more they spread the larger of a toll it takes upon you. As it is now I doubt you will be able to sustain the current level for any more than a few minutes at most."

"I suppose that just means we will be forced to defeat you before that happens" The elder Ishida answered, earning a nod from his companion.

 _***RitL***_

"It is a bit ironic, that the palace of the Soul King would be burned to the ground by a Shinigami..." the Quincy mused, as he watched from afar as another portion of the ceiling crumble and fall due to the damage that had been done.

Glancing over at the two defeated men he let out a sigh. If the most powerful Soul Reaper of all time could not defeat him what made them think that they could? Hope perhaps, or maybe just a lack of it.

Men do the most foolish of things when they believe that defeat is inevitable after all.

Now that his _Bankai_ had been canceled the flames could be put out... but why bother? Why not let the cleansing fire burn away the sins of the past?

"S-so what now... y-your _highness_."

'Such hatred in his tone' the lord mused, "normally I do not take kindly to attempts on my life... but if I killed you, Isshin Kurosaki, then your daughters would undoubtedly hate me... and perhaps Ichigo as well. I would never want to hurt him, or his family, in such a way. As for Ryuken... well I have killed enough Quincy in my time."

The man turned to leave. Now that the two warriors were safe from any harm, having been taken from the palace moments after they had been defeated, he could turn his attention to the last of the threats. The last three who still sought to continue the conflict.

"W-wait... I-Ichigo..."

"My... _our_ son will be fine Kurosaki. Uryu Ishida has been spared and I will ensure that Ichigo is not killed by any of the three _comrades_ of yours."

The man grimaced. Teaming up with Aizen Sosuke, knowing full well what would happen should they emerge victorious, was beginning to weigh heavily on his conscience. A part of him wondered if his daughters, or son, would forgive him for allowing that monster free.

"M-my daughters?"

"Perfectly safe with the other Quincy. They are one of us as well so I promise that no harm comes to them from my forces. I cannot guarantee that you allies are as _compassionate_ however."

With that the man departed, intending on ending the war once and for all.

 _***RitL***_

"Karin over here!"

"I'm coming hold on, oh my God Yoruichi!"

"I-I-Is she..."

"No she's still alive, but not by much. Come on we need to get her some help"

The Shihoin clan heir noticed that she was being gently carried by the two sisters, each taking one of her arms to support her.

"K-Karin... Y-Yuzu" she barely managed to mutter out.

"Hang on Yoruichi we got you. The Quincy have a field hospital nearby that we were told about. You will be safe there."

It wasn't much, but the two girls had resolved to save as many lives as they could. The war wasn't important anymore... all that mattered was the future _after_ it was over.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _Kenpachi roared out in laughter, "there are no men like me!"_

 _Once again, the two adversaries, so different and yet so alike, clashed together. Each struggling for his own reasons, his own goal, his own life and future._

 _***Omake: Playing the Game***_

Rangiku glared at the man sitting across from her.

Gin smiled back.

The woman growled.

The man hummed a pleasant tune.

The female plotted the man's death.

The male contemplated how the woman would look in leather.

"Gin..."

"Rangiku-chan..."

"Would you mind... oh I don't know... UNTYING ME YOU BASTARD!"

Indeed the blonde had been _very_ securely tied up, using rope, chains, wire, Christmas lights, Duct tape, and dental floss.

"Oh I would... but the thing is... I'm _really_ busy."

He went back to humming, while swaying gently side to side.

The woman developed an eye twitch.

"Gin Ichimaru I swear to all that is holy in this world if you do _not_ untie me..." suddenly she paused, before developing a very Gin-like smirk herself.

Suddenly the silver-haired man coughed nervously. Rangiku using one of _his_ smirks was _never_ a good sign.

"Uh Rangiku-chan?"

"Oh I was just thinking Gin- _kun_ , about all of the wonderful _toys_ I have back in my apartment..."

"T-t-t-toys?"

"Oh yes" she replied with a purr, sending pleasant shivers down his spine. "Oh so _many_ toys... I have ropes and chains of my own you know. I was just thinking about how _fun_ they would have been if we had played with them _together_."

He shifted slightly, readjusting himself due to a slightly different path of blood flow towards his lower regions.

"But it is too _bad_... I don't think we can _play_ together if I am already _tied_ up."

The bindings had been cut instantly, who knew that the man's _Bankai_ could be so versatile?

" _Thank you_ Gin-kun," in a flash the situation was reversed, and the man found himself tied up in a dozen _kido_ chains and ropes, "although I have a question now..."

"Y-y-y-yes Rangiku-chan?"

"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU TIE ME UP!?"

***A/N***

* **Translations -** _Netsuoki Engetsu-_ 'Glowing Embers Encasing the Scathing Moon'

Huge thanks to HelL4DAluCarD for his suggestion on the name of Isshin's _Bankai_. I was actually at a loss of what to do for it's power until I remembered he had sent me this.

Almost over ladies and gents! I figure only one more combat chapter then an epilogue!

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Yhwach

Ichigo

Jugo

Mask

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara

Kenpachi Zaraki

Orihime - _deceased_ -

The Royal Guard - _deceased-_

Aizen Sosuke

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A **The Ascension** Ichigo

B **The Blade** Jugram

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort – The Kingdom of God

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F **The Freedom** Joli – Freedom from God

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God - _deceased_ -

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar – The Body of God - _deceased_ -

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille – The Army of God

M **The Mirror** Lothar - God's Reflection

N **The Noise** Xaros – My God's Answer

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** – Clovis – God's Chariot - _deceased_ -

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina – Protection of God

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde – The Presence of God - _deceased-_

V **The Volatile** Bambietta -The Wrath of God

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God - _deceased_ -

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard – God above all others

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

The Royal Guard

Love

Shunsui

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku

Nanao

Omaeda

Hiyori

Tatsuki


	25. Final Confrontation

**Raised in the Light**

Final Confrontation

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"You know if someone would have told me that we would spend this entire stupid trip wandering around this place lost then I would have gone with someone else... or just with Yachiru." Zaraki complained as the four proceeded down yet another street.

"Perhaps Kenpachi-kun if Aizen-chan would simply admit that I am right about where we are going rather than changing our course every few minutes..."

" _Or_ if Kisuke Urahara could accept the fact that he is _once again_ wrong about what is going on then we wouldn't have passed the same building five times now."

" _OR_ if Aizen wasn't such a piece of crap then _maybe_..."

"I think we should go that way!"

"Yes Yachiru we are aware of where _you_ think we should go but..."

"Is there some rule where Shinigami are not _allowed_ to be stealthy or something?"

All four of the warriors immediately spun, and noticed the two Quincy standing at the other end of the courtyard. One of them Urahara immediately recognized from Isshin's description, his son Ichigo.

"Well Jugo looks like we found them."

"Indeed brother, the last three 'War Enders' of the enemy."

"Oh my my, such titles that you give us. But we aren't here for you necessarily so if you would like to stand aside..."

"Screw that shit! I have been walking around for over an hour without a single sliver of action, I WANT A FIGHT!"

The pink haired girl giggled happily, leaping from the man's back as the berserker charged across the opening to engage the two boys.

 _***RitL***_

"So are we going with plan A or plan B?" Ichigo muttered out in question, as the two Sternritter leapt backwards away from the powerful swing, which cratered the ground they had been standing on moments prior.

"I suppose 'A' would be the better of the two choices. They do not seem very skilled in the art of teamwork, and with their superior numbers it would be difficult to split up"

"Agreed"

With that the blonde charged forward, easily sliding underneath a powerful horizontal slash, and following it up with a deft stroke of his own.

It was only raw instinct that allowed Zaraki to parry the blow, promptly forcing the Quincy back with a burst of strength. Unfortunately he had forgotten that there was another fighter, and a volley of arrows streaked toward him from his exposed flank.

Before they could impact a barrier raised, absorbing the energy, albeit cracking in the process.

"Hey, I thought you two assholes were moving on. I wanted the two of them to myself!"

"Sorry Kenpachi-san but these two appear far more dangerous than we anticipated. If we did not intervene then you might have received quite a bit of damage."

The spiky haired man grunted at the shopkeeper's explanation, before engaging his original target once more in a contest of swordsmanship. Ichigo prepared to intervene again, but was cut off by a series of barriers, and forced to dodge from a massive _Kido_ blast fired by the former 'transcended being'.

"This is going to get quite annoying" the orange-haired Quincy muttered out, as he prepared to take on both Aizen and Urahara at the same time.

 _***RitL***_

'Powerful overhand swing with right hand'

Jugo promptly dodged to the right as well, putting himself onto his opponent's left side, before performing a quick slash across the man's arm.

'Fast rising attack, diagonal from bottom left to top right'

Once again he was correct, and weaved around the blow to deliver his own stab, this time into the Shinigami's shoulder.

'Irritation evident, will seek to engage in hand to hand combat and prevent further mobility'

Sure enough Kenpachi did so, and lunged forward. The man's raw speed was still great enough that it outclassed Jugram, even if the blonde's natural grace and agility were superior.

Grabbing him by the arm, Kenpachi raised up his sword to cut through his adversary, a crazed grin on his face the entire time. But Jugo was ready for him.

Tossing his sword to the other hand the blonde was able to parry the blow, though grunting from the effort of trying to match the man's strength. His free hand, although his forearm still 'belonged' to the Shinigami, was then able to strike forward, slicing into the opposing warrior's torso an inch or so before he was thrown back to put distance between them.

"The hell was that?"

"I am not called **The Blade** for nothing. My aspect allows me to turn any part of my being into a blade." As if to emphasize this the Sternritter narrowed his eyes, and a small cut appeared upon the man's face. "Even my sight can cut my opponent."

Zaraki's grin grew even wider, "OH HELL YES! NOW THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN CUTTING EACH OTHER TO PIECES!"

 _***RitL***_

Ichigo glanced between the two former enemies with irritation. No matter what plan he came up with in his mind this battle was going to be beyond annoying. The blonde had a habit of coming up with bizarre contraptions and technology that could turn the tides of any battle.

Aizen Sosuke was a beyond powerful immortal... also he was a smug son of a bitch.

Said son of a bitch was currently smiling in his usual 'I am superior to you in every way and I know it' manner. "Fear not Kisuke Urahara, this battle will prove to be only a minor inconvenience to one such as myself. Now bear witness to my awe inspiring power."

To his credit the shopkeeper actually managed _not_ to roll his eyes at the man's speech.

" _Shatter_ "

Ichigo watched on, before raising an eyebrow in curiosity as the man promptly turned to face his rival. "You see Urahara, the mere _child_ in front of us now has no idea of my actions. He is unable to perceive me at all, and instead can only observe an illusion of my glory."

'Did he just call me _child_?'

Now the plan had been to wait and reveal his secret when the time was right, thus dealing the maximum amount of damage to the man and obtaining the greatest advantage but... well Ichigo was beyond irritated with the man.

 _***RitL***_

"Now I need only to choose his manner of execution. Shall it be slow and painful? Or perhaps a quick decapitation. Shall I take his head for a souvenir? Return it to Isshin Shiba as a trophy? Surely that would be..."

Aizen's rant was cut short, thankfully as the blonde was about to start hacking away at his 'ally' in order to stop his crazed monologue, by an arrow blowing a hole in his torso.

"Sorry, I _was_ going to let you continue but... well I seem to have a short attention span when it comes to letting psychopaths talk about how amazing they are."

"B-b-b-but how!?"

This time Ichigo took on a 'are you really that stupid' look before sighing and going into his explanation. "When my father, brother, and I first came to the Seireitei we broke into the Central 46 to retrieve a very _specific_ object. Want to take a guess on what that was?"

"There is no artifact that would allow you to see through my illusions brat! I am a perfect being with no flaws! There is nothing you can do to..."

"You touched his _Zanpakuto_ didn't you?" Urahara interrupted.

"Yup!"

Aizen's jaw dropped, the _greatest_ flaw of his _Zanpakuto,_ as revealed by his former lieutenant Gin Ichimaru during the Arrancar invasion, had been once again utilized against him.

"That means that my father, Jugo, and myself are all 'immunized' against your _Shikai_ Aizen- _chan_."

Kisuke managed to stifle his giggle just in time. It really was a pity that the boy was fighting for the Quincy, they would have undoubtedly been the best of friends had the situation been different.

 _***RitL***_

'So far brother is holding his own but... I do not even know if father could defeat both of them in a two on one fight.'

Due to his concern Jugram miscalculated the sudden burst of speed that his opponent activated, and received a rather painful cut across his torso as a result.

"What's wrong? You worried about your buddy over there? This is a fight! The only concern, hell the only priority you should have is killing your opponent!"

"I am almost envious of your simplistic view of the world. Tell me, should you emerge victorious what will you do after the war is over?"

"Huh? What the hell kind of question is that? That isn't the type of thing to ask yourself during a fight! The only question you should have is how you intend of killing your enemy! Nothing else matters but the fight you are in!"

"Such a philosophy... it is no wonder there is so much suffering in this world with men like you."

Kenpachi roared out in laughter, "there are no men like me!"

Once again the two adversaries, so different and yet so alike, clashed together. Each struggling for his own reasons, his own goal, his own life and future.

 _***RitL***_

Kisuke Urahara shot forward in a blur of _Shunpo_ , only to find his opponent had already raised in blade to parry. With a grunt of effort he was thrown backwards, before the Quincy spun around and clashed blades with the traitorous Shinigami.

'This isn't working. Aizen and I will never be able to sync up enough to deal with him in any sort of effective manner. We are just wasting time and energy right now.'

With a swift kick the boy pushed the overconfident immortal backwards, not that the man was even trying to fight at his peak, and vanished immediately.

A second later Urahara dodged a power arrow from behind by only a few inches.

"My my that was a close one Ichigo-kun. I would have thought that you were trying to hurt me that time."

"Nah, but it is rather fun putting holes into your friend's body."

Sure enough, with a slight glance backwards Urahara did notice yet another gaping wound in the former Captain's chest.

Said man was also glaring at the eccentric exile.

"Hehe... oops?"

"Kisuke Urahara I find it difficult to believe that you are _that unaware_ of your surroundings and the battlefield itself... which leads me to believe that you are _enjoying_ my injuries... as temporary as they are."

A few seconds later and the wound had already healed itself, just in time for Kisuke to pull out his patented fan and hide his large grin.

He had to admit... it was rather fun watching Isshin's son do catastrophic amounts of damage to the bastard.

"Of course not Aizen- _chan_. I would _never_ do such a thing to my good _friend_." Even Kenpachi would have been able to pick up on the amount of sarcasm that Urahara was emphasizing in his response.

"Well perhaps you could actually _try_ to do something in this little spar of ours hm?"

"Oh my, to put such pressure on a humble shopkeeper like myself. I thought that you would defeat him single handedly _Lord Aizen_."

"I could of course, to strike down such an ant though would be a waste of my power. It would be much more ironic if it was _you_ who took the boy down, considering who his father is and all."

'Of course he would think that... bastard' Kisuke thought with a sigh, before sadly nodding.

"I suppose I do have quite a few tricks I have been preparing to remove the threat of the Quincy. Very well..."

 _***RitL***_

Ichigo silently cursed as he beheld his arrow dissipating into the air before reaching his intended target. Undoubtedly both his father and Jugo would deem that as a 'miss'. That meant target practice with his father, while Jugo made commentary about it for the next month.

He knew, of course, exactly _who_ had caused the issue... even if he didn't know _how_. Kisuke Urahara was not considered one of the 'War Enders' without reason after all. His inventions and techniques could, and would, turn the tide of any battle.

They had done so before.

"Oh I see that you noticed my removal of those pesky arrows of yours. Yes I am dreadfully sorry Ichigo but as long as you are close to me the energy holding them together will crumble apart before they can reach their targets."

"How lovely" the boy sneered back, "and I am sure that you have plenty of other fun 'presents' in your bag as well."

"But of course! Since you inquired so nicely I will even reveal the next one to you."

Before he could continue any further he was interrupted by a deep sigh and a chuckle from his opponent, who was shaking his head back and forth.

"Something wrong Ichigo?"

"No... just that I am _never_ going to hear the end of this..."

Glancing over at Aizen, who appeared just as confused, Kisuke pressed the conversation, "I am afraid I don't quite understand."

"You had to be there for it really... but long story short my father is going to be reminding me about 'how right he was' for the next decade at this rate. God he is going to make me memorize so many freaking books after this..."

"I don't think Isshin would force you to do that Ichigo, I know he does put an emphasis on school work but..."

"No not him, the one who raised me, Yhwach. He predicted that this would happen and well..."

Suddenly Urahara's senses caught onto what was about to happen, and he ducked a split second before a blade slashed through the air where his head had been.

Before any retaliation could be attempted another flanking maneuver had succeeded against the shopkeeper, forcing him to dodge haphazardly away.

Before him, and now between him and the Quincy, stood two _beautiful_ Arrancar females, Nelliel and Harribel if he remembered right.

"Master, will you allow us the pleasure of killing this one?"

"Yes please master. There is no reason for you to sully your blade on such a man."

"Hey now... that wasn't nice to say..." the blonde man whined out.

Meanwhile Aizen's patented smirk had turned into a frown, "Nelliel, Harribel what are you two doing here? Remove the boy from my presence at once!"

Without even looking the dark skinned woman raised one hand in the man's direction... and extended her middle finger.

 _***RitL***_

"Gotta say kid you are pretty damn good with that sword of yours" Kenpachi praised, panting slightly from the wounds he had thus received. Although his own strength and speed were superior to his opponent's, the Quincy's technique was far superior, as well as his agility and finesse.

Strength didn't do him much good if he couldn't _hit_ his target.

"I assume then that you will either be removing your eye patch, or activating _Shikai_?"

The maniac's grin was all the answer that he needed.

A slight flick of his wrist and the seal holding back a vast amount of his power was thus removed, allowing Kenpachi Zaraki to fight unrestrained once more.

Yellow energy ripped forth, devastating the surrounding area, and even the very ground that the Shinigami stood on.

"Ahh now that is more like it! Feels like I just cracked my back for the first time in days!"

Jugo _knew_ what to expect when the man charged forward even faster than before, he had braced himself in preparation for the first blow. But even with all this he was unprepared.

The single attack launched the Quincy heir backwards, skidding along the ground as he struggled to keep upright from the sheer strength that he had just felt. Finally after over twenty feet he came to a halt, his hands shaking slightly from the impact.

It was obvious that he could _not_ fight the man on a blow for blow basis. Doing so would be suicide. This meant that he would be forced into his previous strategy, draw out the battle and slowly wear the man down through light, but accurate, injuries.

This also meant that his brother, and the two Espada that had come to his aid, would need to hold out for longer than he had intended.

 _***RitL***_

"So it appears that it is down to just the two of us battling Ichigo Kurosaki."

"My name is _just_ Ichigo."

"Indeed... I wonder if you truly _realize_ how pointless this spar of ours will be. You cannot kill me, at this point no one can. The inevitable end shall be my victory over all, including those two sisters of yours. Ah what a _delicious_ end it will be for them. Perhaps I won't kill them right away, I could always use two more servants... or concubines."

The _Danku_ shield that was raised _barely_ managed to stop the resulting volley of arrows. A split second later the Quincy appeared above his target and fired down a beam of blue light.

Aizen hissed in pain as he dodged out of the path, which promptly burned a hole through the ground. Looking at his arm the former Captain was surprised by the amount of damage that such a technique had caused him. Although his limb was still intact, it was almost completely black, as the skin covering it was turned to ash.

"Impressive technique _boy,_ but I assure you that..."

This time Ichigo flashed to directly in front of his enemy, before once more firing a pillar of blue light directly into him. The immortal had been ready for it though, and focused his absurd amounts of spiritual energy towards the boy as well, creating a struggle of power as the two forces collided.

After a moment the Sternritter vanished, appearing a dozen feet away, and out of the deadly path. It had been obvious to both that the Shinigami's power was far greater in terms of density and lethality.

"I am surprised that you managed to stop my power even for such a short amount of time," the traitor called out, flexing his arm as it healed. "Your father must be so very proud."

 _***RitL***_

Meanwhile, in a building not far away two young girls struggled not to leap into the battle and aid their brother.

"I am afraid I cannot allow you to interfere," Yhwach answered as he sent a glare towards the two sisters, "You will only get in the way and cause Ichigo even more problems. He will be fine, trust in him."

'Ichigo... please be okay...' Bambietta prayed, as she and the other Sternritter who had survived watched on.

 _***RitL***_

Parrying the green haired woman's blade Urahara pushed back, creating a slight gap between them as he spun around to block the attack from behind. Unfortunately this slight break had given Nel time time to recover, and the blonde man was forced to dodge out of another slash from behind.

Shooting himself backwards the shopkeeper attempted to keep both women in front of him, to deny them any advantage due to flanking. It worked for a few moments as he rapidly clashed with the two Espada in a contest of pure swordsmanship, a battle he _should_ have been able to win with ease.

But it seemed as though the two Arrancar had only grown in skill and strength since the war. They flowed in perfect sync with each other, reminding the man of how Isshin, Yoruichi, and he and fought alongside against Aizen.

A second later the pale skinned woman was the one who broke the pattern, leaping up and over the man to, once again, force him onto a two front battle.

Not for the first time did Urahara curse the fact that he had completely neglected any follow up with the Espada after the Quincy invasion of Hueco Mundo. He had been aware of it, but hadn't deemed it necessary to look into. Now he was paying for this mistake, if he had known that two Espada had been missing, possibly joining their enemy, then he would have prepared counter strategies for them as well.

He had been far too focused on their primary enemy, the Quincy, to plan for such things though. Sure he was one of the most skilled Shinigami Captains of all time, but fighting against two enemies that were above Captain class themselves was a daunting task for any warrior.

The most important thing now would be to separate the two women, or better still remove one of them from combat entirely.

Acting quickly the man began muttering through an incantation, before entrapping the dark skinned, and stronger Espada, in several beams of light. A swift kick then knocked the green haired girl aside, before he went through an incantation for one of his favorite _Kido_ spells, thus forming several pink spears behind him.

" _Senju Koten Taiho_ "

A quick calculation of their strength showed that the attack should, at the very least, incapacitate the former Tres Espada. Just as it was about to do so, however, Nel leaped in front, and devoured the attack, before turning it back onto him.

At such close range the man didn't have the time to effectively dodge the attack, and thus was forced to combine _Danku_ and his _Chikasumi no Tate_ together into a crimson red barrier. Even still it did not hold, and the resulting explosive force tore into the shopkeeper.

He was still alive, but with such injuries the Shinigami would need to come up with a new plan... and fast.

 _***RitL***_

Kenpachi Zaraki let out a deep growl as he attempted to, once again, cut the Quincy down. Yet just as before the man seemed to flow around any attempts he made like water, before delivering a slash across his leg.

His injuries were far from life threatening, hell individually they were more of a minor annoyance than anything else. The problems began to emerge when they started to add up. Dozens of cuts and slashes to his legs and arms were slowing him down, weakening his attacks, and, along with the puncture marks on his torso, creating more and more blood loss.

If the battle continued on at such a frustrating pace then his vision would begin to blur, and what fun would that be?

His best bet at this point would be to force an exchange of blows... and he knew _exactly_ how to do it.

Charging forward the spiky haired Shinigami rammed his shoulder into the man, stunning him for a moment due to such a strange change in strategy.

Before he could distance himself Kenpachi had, once again, grabbed onto his arm. This time, though, he did not hesitate to deliver a powerful diagonal slash across the blonde's torso. Add in his enhanced strength and power and the wound had proven to be incredibly deep as blood poured from it.

Zaraki grinned, that is until he felt the man's hand impale itself into his stomach. He had forgotten about the fact that his opponent's _entire body_ was a weapon.

Pulling back his arm the next blow was a stab through the Quincy's shoulder, countered by the Sternritter thrusting his sword up through the Shinigami's forearm which still held onto him.

Ripping his arm free, and releasing his enemy in the process the crazed man assumed that the pattern from before would continue, that the blonde would flee and rethink his strategy.

Instead the Captain found a blade cutting into his chest from the side.

A grin formed on his face as he delivered yet another diagonal slash across his torso, thus forming a bloody 'X' on the man.

Finally a real fight!

 _***RitL***_

"Path of Destruction number ninety: _Kurohitsugi_ "

The black box began to form around the Quincy, before he vanished a moment later and fired an arrow into his opponent at point blank range.

"Did you ever actually _catch_ someone with that? I mean who would honestly stand by and simply let you go through this big fancy incantation and watch as they were slowly enclosed in a _Kido_ spell?"

The traitor growled in annoyance, he had already tried a wordless spell, which did little damage, and even a binding combo. Unfortunately, the Sternritter seemed to have adapted quite well to _Bakudo_ , to the point where he could break out of them almost instantly.

It was all becoming rather annoying, and Aizen was getting a bit anxious to kill Yhwach, rather than deal with the man's adopted son… although the boy _was_ related to Isshin Shiba and his two daughters…

"Perhaps it is time Ichigo Kurosaki to end this pitiful battle of ours… _Bankai_ "

 _***RitL***_

Joli was wringing her hands to try and relieve some of the stress. Her lover had _promised_ that he would be okay, _promised_ that he wouldn't take any unnecessary risks, and _promised_ that he would emerge victorious.

Now he was risking it all for some reason that she could not fathom. He was pushing himself to his limit by simply standing there and exchanging blows with the ferocious Captain.

Was there something missing in his life? Some form of excitement that she couldn't provide? After the war was over would he continue seeking battles, having become unable to stay satisfied with the idea of peace?

Looking down she noticed that Irmine was clutching herself as hard as possible to her side, as if she was worried about the same thing. Perhaps she believed that this was her fault? That he was doing this because he didn't _want_ a family after all, and that this would be a good way to abandon that.

Perhaps the small girl felt that she wasn't good enough, that after everything was over she would be left alone once more. Reaching down Joli wrapped her arm around the child, pulling her closer in order to reassure her.

"Don't worry, he will be okay. Neither of us is going to leave you ever again."

She looked up, tears fighting at the edge of her small eyes, as she nodded.

'You heard me Jugo... you better not leave _either_ of us.'

 _***RitL***_

What the hell was he thinking? All of his strategies, plans, tactics, and tricks he had come up with. Every hour he had spent analyzing the man before him, learning the way he moved, the way he attacked and dodged. Watching the intricacies of his relationships with his fellow Captains and subordinates. Observing his greatest victories and most devastating losses. All of that was being ignored, set aside... for this.

Jugo thrust forward, stabbing into his opponent's side, just as the man slashed into his shoulder.

It had degenerated into a battle of blood and rage.

Undoubtedly Joli was going to kill him, if he survived to apologize to her. He was taking far too many risks and injuries. If it wasn't for the intervention of the two Espada...

He had failed his brother. Failed to ensure that he would be there to aid him in his battle against his _two_ opponents. Failed to watch his back when he would need it most.

The blonde wondered if Ichigo would ever forgive him for this.

Finally parting the two warriors leapt backwards, both covered in blood and injuries too numerous to count.

"Not... bad... for a Quincy."

The Sternritter nodded in recognition of the man in return, and that was when the truth struck him.

Respect

It was a mixture of respect and awe that brought out this behavior in the blonde. He had observed Kenpachi for so long, watched his every move... and from that had grown the desire to _test himself_ against the man. To prove that even with his overwhelming power, even being called one of the strongest Shinigami to ever live... that he could defeat the man. That he could best him in any contest, even one that heavily favored the Captain.

He wanted to defeat him, _had_ to defeat him. It was a burning desire unlike any he had ever felt before. Was this what his brother had felt so many years before, back when he was trying to prove himself? This overwhelming urge to push himself to the limit and beyond?

If so it was no wonder that Ichigo had become so strong, so confident, and so powerful.

"Seeing as we are both barely standing... I want one more exchange. A final test to prove _exactly_ which of us deserves the title of greatest swordsman. You at your best, and me at mine."

The man's golden aura ripped forth along with his ferocious grin.

 _***RitL***_

The two Espada paused for barely a moment, noticing the drastic increase in Aizen's power and the diminishing of Ichigo's.

Unfortunately, it was just enough time for Kisuke to capitalize on, and a net of crimson energy wrapped around the green haired girl, before a series of explosions erupted around her. The woman screamed out in pain before mercifully blacking out.

" _Hiasobi, Juzutsunagi_ "

"NEL! You bastard…"

"My sincerest apologies, but I really must be helping my companions. We still need to kill the Quincy lord after all."

"You intend to kill my master as well…"

"If it comes to that, yes" the blonde man muttered out apologetically.

"That I _cannot_ allow. _Destroy_ "

Urahara knew full well what the woman's _Resurreccion_ was capable of, but that didn't mean it was any easier for him to counter. Complete control over all the water was an advantage that could _not_ be underestimated.

 _***RitL***_

Jugo looked on in awe at the massive ax that the Shinigami now wielded. He had heard that the man had indeed achieved his _Shikai_ but seeing it in person was... overwhelming to say the least.

Once again something stirred deep inside his soul, a desire to crush this man once and for all. To test himself and prove that he was superior to the Soul Reaper. To show that he was the greatest swordsman alive.

"Come on now, show me what you are capable of Quincy! Show me exactly why they sent you to stop me!"

" _Vollstandig: The Sword of God_ "

Zaraki grinned as the transformation revealed that Jugram's physical appearance hadn't changed at all, in fact the only thing that had was...

"I am unique among the Sternritter, my true release is a compression of all my power into the sword itself. The blade I now wield is the most deadly in all of existence."

Indeed, the intricate sword that he previously held had transformed into a far more beautiful one, with a halo floating at the end of the handle and two small wings on the side of the hilt.

"Sounds like my kind weapon! Let's test it out, I haven't had the chance to cut anyone up with mine yet either so how about we make this the blood bath we both dream about!"

Both men charged forward, but this time the battle was remarkably different. There was no exchange of blood, no blow for blow. Instead it was a flurry of parried strikes and dodges, both realizing that they stood on the edge of a blade. The slightest mistake or miscalculation would spell certain death.

 _***RitL***_

Ichigo glanced around, nothing _seemed_ different but... he immediately leapt backwards, watching in shock as a Hollow-like creature tore up through the ground where he had been standing.

Moments later dozens more appeared throughout the area.

"Now Ichigo Kurosaki what will you do when the entire world turns against you? What can you do against _Kyogi no Sekai?_ "

"Because I am in an illusionary world right now?"

The man halted, how had the boy already...

"It wasn't really that hard to figure out knowing what your _Shikai_ is. Plus you missed about half of the spiritual pressures that are within range. Seems rather suspicious that they all _suddenly_ disappeared."

"Rather clever of you, but it doesn't matter. Just like my initial release this has no way to removing the influence. Here I control the world and everything about it. You cannot defeat reality itself!"

Just then the creatures lunged forward, forcing the boy to dodge away and begin firing arrows to rapidly destroy them, and the reinforcements that began tearing up through the ground.

"It doesn't matter how hard you fight Ichigo! You cannot win!" The former Captain shouted with malicious glee as more and more monstrosities appeared.

'Shit... now what?' the boy pondered as the enemy creatures continued to surge towards him like an endless tide.

 _***RitL***_

Nelliel woke up to find her entire body in massive amounts of pain, apparently, their enemy had done far more damage than she originally imagined.

Upon standing up, and ignoring the slight shaking in her legs, the green haired woman glanced around and found her partner in a losing battle against the exiled Shinigami.

Dozens of cuts and burns lined her body, and her spiritual pressure was waning quickly. If Nel did not intervene soon…

" _Declare_ "

She wasn't going to let that happen. She had lost too many friends already, as had Harribel. They wouldn't lose any more.

She would survive, Harribel would survive, and Ichigo would survive.

There was no other acceptable outcome

Glancing over the dark skinned Arrancar seemed to know _exactly_ what the woman was planning, and fired a blast of water, which was countered by the blonde man.

The smoke that was created by the exchange cloaked the Espada for just long enough for them to join together and enact their plan.

Thus a few seconds later, when a water encased lance tore through the dust Urahara was shocked enough that he barely put up a barrier in time.

Unfortunately for the man it was not enough, and their attack easily ripped through it, impacting his left shoulder and completely tearing his arm from his torso.

Kisuke hastily activated his _Bankai_ to stop the blood flow.

Moments later Nelliel screamed out in agony as her limbs were split in half by the man's power.

"I am truly sorry for this my dear. My _Bankai_ is quite cruel as you can see. Taking apart living beings in order to see what makes them function, and then making changes is… a rather disturbing process to have done to you is it not?"

"NEL!?"

The blonde woman charged forward, intending on killing the man who had harmed her friend, when her legs, too, were amputated due the grotesque technique.

"It is the end for you two. Then I shall be forced to remove the other Quincy as well." the man said with a mournful sigh.

 _***RitL***_

'I need to think of something soon.'

Ichigo dodged another rampant assault, before blowing away the top half of the creature in question.

Unfortunately, just as before, two more took its place.

He was getting nowhere slowly, and worse it was affecting him physically as well. His energy was beginning to drain and the few injuries he did sustain were adding up. He could use… _that_ but the last time he had… the expressions on his father's and brother's faces…

Ichigo _hated_ feeling different, superior or inferior to anyone. He just wanted to be normal, to be like everyone else. He didn't want to see expressions of fear, or awe, or loathing, or disappointment.

A normal life, a quiet existence, happiness, _peace_.

But he had to achieve those first, victory before peace. Pain before happiness.

Once more he would have to see those expressions.

" _Vollstandig"_

 _***RitL***_

Bambietta had watched on in horror as a black sphere had encapsulated her lover. She had felt his presence weaken, and she knew in her heart that he was hurt and standing alone against a monster.

She could see the effect that the battle was having on the man's two sisters. They were holding hands, squeezing so hard in concern that their knuckles were pale white.

Even the Quincy lord seemed agitated and stressed by what was going on.

Then _it_ happened.

First a single ray of pure white light shot through the sphere, piercing the heavens themselves. Then a second joined it, a third, and then more until the darkness created by Aizen Sosuke was utterly destroyed, the shock wave spreading outward like a sudden sunrise.

As her eyes adjusted to the blinding white light she gaped in shock.

He was… beautiful, there was no other way to describe it.

A pair of amazing wings flowed from his back, but unlike the other Sternritter these were feathery and gloriously physical, rather than appearing to be made of energy like so many others. They glowed with an ethereal light that seemed to strengthen her resolve and push back the shadows of the world

His body was now covered in luminescent armor with silver streaks that flowed across him like channels of pure energy. A golden halo, made of pure sunlight, floated above his head.

More than any other Sternritter, Ichigo resembled what she had always thought of as a Quincy. He was like an angel descended from Heaven, a warrior with no peer or equal, a guardian of those who sought refuge, and a destroyer of evil.

" _Beautiful_ "

 _***RitL***_

The battles came to a halt, a silence falling upon the world as Ichigo stood before all.

" _God's Will"_

Aizen could not believe, could not _imagine_ an outcome such as this. The boy, clad in the holy light of the divine, had torn through a world created by the densest of spiritual energy. An illusion that could not be conquered or defeated… and he had done so with _just_ his transformation.

Truly this was the greatest challenge of all.

"Y-yes… YES! LOOK AT YOURSELF ICHIGO! YOU ARE TRULY MAGNIFICENT!" the madman cackled with glee.

The teenager merely stood and stared on stoically to allow him his delusions.

"This shall be the greatest battle of all! Two transcended beings in a fight to the end! THE WINNER SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH AND ALL THINGS TIED TO IT!"

"No"

"No?"

"No, we won't. I have no desire in having 'the world' and you will not win… so no"

"Foolish, stupid, ignorant child! You have discarded your weapon! You are helple…"

The 'helpless' child raised his arm, and Aizen Sosuke was cut a thousand times. Blood poured from his body like a waterfall as his form lost the ability to be identified as a Shinigami. His body was mutilated, destroyed, shredded.

Yet he was immortal, and no force could kill him.

Falling to one knee the former Captain gasped out in agony as his body began to heal and replenish itself.

"Y-y-you think th-that y-you can kill _me_!?" with a roar of defiance the traitor stood once more, his features healed and his body cleaned.

"HIT ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, EVERYTHING YOU CAN BOY! SHOW ME THE EXTENT OF YOUR POWER! I WANT NO DOUBT OF MY VICTORY WHEN I CRUSH YOU!"

"As you wish"

Once more the teenager flicked his wrist, only this time the man was impaled a thousand by a thousand times. His entire body was now covered in small objects too numerous to count. It was impossible to see the damage that they had done, for there was no skin left undamaged, no place for blood to pour from.

"ha… haha… HAHAHAHA!" the laughter that filled the air caused Urahara to flinch in repulsion.

"IS THAT IT!? THAT WAS YOUR BEST!? YOU CANNOT KILL ME, THE HOGYOKU MAKES ME IMMORTAL!"

"Perhaps, but I wasn't trying to _kill_ you."

This rebuttal brought a look of confusion from all present, that is until Aizen glanced down and truly looked at the objects that had been forced into his body.

Most had been rods of pure white light, then that had faded and revealed them to be angelic feathers. But what was most _concerning_ was the dozen or so syringes that now appeared empty.

"What did you…"

"I ended you, once and for all"

" _PATH OF DESTRUCTION NUMBER NINENTY NINE!"_

Despite the declaration, and the look of concentration on the man's face… nothing happened. There was no fluctuation of spiritual energy, no shaking of the ground or formation of the attack.

There was simply… nothing.

"Wha-what have you done to me!?"

"First I need to give you a brief history lesson. You see back when the Seireitei was considered 'uncivilized' criminals were often executed in a very… despicable manner. The offending Shinigami was tossed into a pit made of 'Sekkiseki'. Due to the exposure it would suppress the victim's energy to such an extent that they could not fight back against the Hollows that would then devour them."

"I KNOW YOU STUPID BRAT!"

"Ah very good, well since you are aware then you should be made aware that the greatest scientific mind of all time has found a way to _liquefy_ the same material, and then integrate it into another caustic fluid that would allow integration into a target's circulatory system. Basically, we modified your blood so that it completely suppresses your spiritual energy… forever."

"No… NO I WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT! I WILL NOT BE BOUND AGAIN!"

Meanwhile Yhwach gave 'the greatest scientific mind' a nod of appreciation. Mask truly was the smartest being he had ever encountered.

 _***RitL***_

Jugo recovered first, leaping forward to engage the man with a renewed sense of purpose. His brother's _Vollstandig_ … he had never thought that it would be seen again after…

The first time Ichigo had used it his father and he had stood there gawking like idiots, and it had made the boy uncomfortable. They both knew how much the orange haired Quincy _hated_ to be stared at, hated to be _different_. But it couldn't be helped, he was so _beautiful_ in that state. His very presence created a sense of strength and leadership in those who stood with him. It was the form of a king… of a God.

Now that strength had once more reinvigorated him. The stupidity that had been clouding his mind, urging him to push himself to more and more dangerous feats, was now gone, cleared away like storm clouds before a fierce wind.

He had to end this, _now_. Then he could return to his family.

Zaraki saw the advance, grinned in excitement, then charged as well.

A vertical swing was started by Kenpachi, Jugo went with a thrust.

Just as they were about to connect the blonde stepped gracefully to the side, just barely avoiding the powerful blow as his own blade skimmed along the surface of the massive _Zanpakuto_.

His sword pierced the man's chest.

The ax slammed into the ground, hitting nothing but air and ground.

"Damn… you are a fast one"

"If it is any consolation… if you had achieved _Bankai_ you would have won without question."

The man shook his head, "doubt it, you have something more than just power… you have greatness in you."

The Quincy nodded in thanks.

"A final request? Yachiru she…"

"She will be unharmed and returned to the Soul Society."

"Thank you"

The Shinigami closed his eyes, a smile still on his face, before he gave a nod.

A flick of the blonde's wrist split the man in half vertically.

 _***RitL***_

Urahara noticed the fall of his last companion through his sixth sense and let out an even deeper sigh. Would he be _able_ to stop Yhwach at this point? Was there even any point in trying?

No, he had to continue on, he had to see this through… no matter what the cost.

"Sorry ladies but our time is up. I will be forced to deal with your two…"

Before he could finish Urahara watched as his _Bankai_ was ripped away, before reforming behind the, now returned, Ichigo.

"You were saying?"

Again, he sighed, "I hope you do not think that I was _unaware_ of this technique you had… I've also developed a way to counter it."

Reaching into his pocket the shopkeeper pulled out a small black orb, before watching as his ultimate technique took on a monstrous, skeletal form. "By Hollowfying my _Bankai_ it will severely damage your body and revert it back to my control. Quincy and Hollows are simply too opposite to meld in such a way."

The two Arrancar glanced over at each other, the man's declaration hit them harder than he had realized. Perhaps he was right in that they did not _belong_ with their master. That any sort of physical relationship would…

"Apparently not for me."

All three stared in shock as the teenager was… fine…

"Must have something to do with the inner Hollow I once had in my soul. Sure, my Quincy half got rid of it and purged the influence but… well I guess this is one side effect I am not upset with."

A second later the two Espada were sewn back to their previous states, the experience of being taken apart already fading from their minds.

Urahara merely tilted his head back and gazed up at the sun before letting out a slight chuckle.

"It really is a beautiful day to die."

A second later he was decapitated and split in half at the waist by the two Espada. His hat floating away at the last second due to a gust of wind.

 _***Next Chapter Preview! ***_

 _There were no storm clouds on the horizon, no future wars to take part in, no conflicts that would force her to miss sleep with worrying about the lives of her loved ones._

 _There was simply peace._

 _***Omake: The Ultimate Battle***_

Aizen strode forth to confront the orange haired boy, a smirk on his face. "Now Ichigo, let us begin our final..."

The boy stepped to the side revealing a sheet covered object

The traitor's eyes widened in shock, realizing exactly what was about to happen.

"You..."

The covering was removed, revealing the greatest obstacle to Sosuke's return.

"It appears we meet once again... Chair-Sama"

The object stood still, not responding or moving... because it was a chair.

"I see you are still playing the waiting game... VERY WELL CHAIR-SAMA! The situation is different this time, this time... I am armed! _SHATTER_!"

Revealing his _Zanpakuto_ the madman cast his illusion on the inanimate object... which of course did not respond because it was well... a chair.

A few moments followed, before Aizen frowned in annoyance, "I see, you have somehow immunized yourself against my _Shikai_ , impressive Chair-Sama, BUT NOT IMPRESSIVE ENOUGH! _BANKAI_!"

Revealing his ultimate power cast a world of illusionary control around his arch-nemesis... which of course was not affected since you know... still a chair...

"Incredible... truly incredible... not only are you resistant to my initial release but my full release as well, but I know your true weakness... BEHOLD!"

Aizen promptly leapt across the gap... and kick the object before crying out in pain and clutching his foot in agony.

 _***RitL***_

"Did he just break his foot... on a wooden chair?" Ichigo muttered out in confusion as he watched the exchange.

"Indeed, you see he was imprisoned on it and it represses all _Reiatsu_ which means that as far as it is concerned... he is just a normal human being." Yhwach explained.

 _***RitL***_

"Very well Chair-Sama... it appears you have struck the first true blow BUT VICTORY SHALL STILL BE MINE! PATH OF DESTRUCTION NUMBER ELEVEN BILLION EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY-FOUR THOUSAND AND TWENTY THREE: SUPER AWESOME DEATH BEAM OF GREATNESS!"

"That isn't even a _Kido_ spell..." The orange-haired Quincy muttered in confusion.

Sure enough though, a massive energy blast ripped forth, but just as Yhwach had explained it dissipated immediately upon reaching the throne-like structure.

"CURSE YOU CHAIR-SAMA!"

 _***RitL***_

"You know I have to admit it was rather cruel of you to suggest this..." The Quincy lord noted, turning to the mysterious benefactor to have provided not only the information, but also the creation itself.

Gin Ichimaru stepped forth from the shadows, his patented smile still plastered onto his face, "Oh you know me, I just _love_ to help Aizen-Chan anyway that I can."

***A/N***

 **Translations:** Kyogi no sekai* - False World

So now we all know what the 'secret task' was back when Ichigo, Yhwach, and Jugo were infiltrating the Central 46. Even then I foresaw the future of my story! Or something like that.

Well the story is coming to a close soon, that was the last combat chapter and I figure there will just be one last 'epilogue'. After this I do plan on continue writing of course, I just haven't decided on _what_ to write yet. I have at least two different story ideas bouncing around in my head that I want to try, but I really don't want to do two stories at the same time again, especially not with school going on.

So I hope everyone enjoyed the climactic battles, I had a hell of a lot of fun writing them.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Yhwach

Ichigo

Jugo

Mask

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara _-deceased-_

Kenpachi Zaraki - _deceased_ -

Orihime - _deceased_ -

The Royal Guard - _deceased-_

Aizen Sosuke _-Powerless-_

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A **The Ascension** Ichigo – God's Will

B **The Blade** Jugram – The Sword of God

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort – The Kingdom of God

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F **The Freedom** Joli – Freedom from God

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God - _deceased_ -

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar – The Body of God - _deceased_ -

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille – The Army of God

M **The Mirror** Lothar - God's Reflection

N **The Noise** Xaros – My God's Answer

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** – Clovis – God's Chariot - _deceased_ -

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina – Protection of God

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde – The Presence of God - _deceased-_

V **The Volatile** Bambietta -The Wrath of God

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God - _deceased_ -

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard – God above all others

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

The Royal Guard

Love

Shunsui

Urahara

Kenpachi

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku

Nanao

Omaeda

Hiyori

Tatsuki


	26. Light of the Future

**Raised in the Light**

Light of the Future

*I will never own, or make money, on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

 _Techniques or emphasis_

 **More emphasis**

 _***RitL***_

"Hey Rukia hurry up already! We are meeting Gin and Rangiku in less than an hour to discuss where to construct the new academy."

"I heard you, be there in a second Renji!"

The raven haired girl turned back to her brother, who was seated comfortably on the grass. "Will you be okay nii-sama?"

The former nobleman turned toward the younger girl, and gave a warm smile and a nod, "Yes Rukia I will be fine, I am not as helpless as you all like to think."

"I know that..." the female replied with a slight blush, "I just worry about you."

A slight chuckle brought her attention back to the man, "I remember when it was the opposite... when I was the one worried about you, worried that you needed my help with everything, that you needed my protection."

Her blush deepened, it had been a long recovery for the man and he was finally getting back his mobility from the massive injuries he had sustained. Even with Kotetsu's assistance it had been difficult.

"Make sure that you send Gin and Rangiku a greeting from me and invite them over for tea. I have missed seeing them now that they are married."

"Of course nii-sama."

"You should get going, your _husband_ isn't known for his patience."

Rukia nodded, and gave a slight bow before leaving.

 _***RitL***_

"How is your brother doing?"

"Better, he seems to be getting happier by the day now that he can actually be outside for extended periods and no longer requires so much bed rest."

Rangiku nodded, "I understand that, if I was stuck in bed for so long I probably would go nuts."

The silver haired man shot her a sly grin, "funny, you weren't complaining when you were stuck in bed with _me_."

The sputtering and muttering from the blonde woman brought another bright smile onto her husband's face.

"Still though, I am glad to hear that he is recovering. He was probably the worst off among the surviving Shinigami... well except for..."

The others nodded, Yoruichi had been devastated when she had heard about Urahara's death. Add to that her physical injuries and she had taken to heavily drinking for months until Kukaku had pulled her out of the depressed spiral. Eventually she had left and gone on a journey by herself in the World of the Living to reassess her life.

"I'm still surprised that Tessai and the Visored never came back. I mean I sort of understand Mashiro not wanting to because of Kensei but still..."

"It's different for them Renji. Soul Society hasn't been their home in well over a hundred years. They don't have anything to come back to."

The former lieutenant nodded to his wife, "I know but still... I would like to see them more often than the _occasional_ updates and such."

"Speaking of which, has anyone heard from Yachiru lately?" the blonde woman inquired.

"I... heard that she chose to move on last week..."

The woman's eyes widened at Rukia's answer, she knew that the young girl had taken Kenpachi's death hard but...

"I guess that makes sense, I mean Zaraki was one of the few people she cared about. With him gone and the war over... she didn't have anything to continue on for. I'm just glad that the Quincy created that gateway so that it would be painless."

As they had promised the other race had indeed come through with a way of allowing those who wanted to a peaceful transition into reincarnation. It had been a large archway setup with a strange energy field that instantly broke down the spiritual body upon entering it. An instantaneous and painless way to die was more than most Shinigami could ever hope for.

 _***RitL***_

"Alright ladies and gentlemen let's make this simple shall we? Everyone _knows_ why we are here. No more messing around, no more jokes, and no more lies. Let's just get this over with and be done with it."

"Jeesh Lothar, aren't you taking this a bit seriously? It's just poker."

" _Just poker?_ Oh no Kort this is not _just poker_. This is _strip_ poker, which means that our pride is on the line, and if you hadn't noticed... THE WOMEN ARE KICKING OUR ASSES!"

Indeed glancing around the table all of the female Sternritter, save for Irmine Jolie and Bambietta were completely clothed.

Those three females had opted not to participate, due to the fact that if they had ended up being ogled then their respective husbands, or in Irmine's case her adopted father, would have _murdered_ the rest of the men.

"Hey it's not _my_ fault, Xaros said he was good at this game."

"I _am_ good at this game, but for some ridiculous reason I have been getting utter crap thus far."

"Doesn't explain why you can't bluff worth a damn" Mina muttered, causing the more feral Sternritter to giggle as well.

"Hey I can bluff just fine thank you! Just because one of you can _smell lies_ doesn't mean I am bad at this game, I still say that using our powers is cheating!"

"You were the one who suggested it to make the game 'more interesting'." Gerhard noted with a smile. He had been the only male to still have his actual pants on, the rest were down to their underwear.

"Yeah well that was back when I had the brilliant strategy for Kort to actually _use his_ and cheat for _us_."

"How the hell did you want me to subtly draw an intricate pattern on the ground around us with no one noticing?"

"I don't know genius, I just _expected_ you to figure it out!"

"Now now boys let's not fight, raise or fold."

The various men looked down at their cards, gave a combined sighed, and folded at the same time.

"Alright boys pay up, let's see those tighty-whities." Rille ordered with a smirk.

Despite the mutterings and grumbles three pairs of underwear were thrown onto the table, along with a pair of pants from 'The Zenith'."

"What are you going to do with these anyway Rille? It's not like you enjoy men's clothing or anything." Mina pointed out.

"True, but I do believe we have quite a flag poles that are missing some... decorations and I figured..."

At that very moment both Ichigo and Jugram walked into the room, blinked at the sigh of three naked men, and one nearly so, sitting at a table with their clothing in piles and three still clothed women sitting on the other side.

"Uhm what are... you know what never mind I don't want to know."

 _***RitL***_

"Hey Karin, Yuzu are you two ready to go?"

"Yeah dad hold on, Yuzu is just packing a bag of homemade cookies real quick!"

The man shook his head at the two girls antics. It had been rather difficult to accept the death of his friends and their loss but the fact that the Quincy had allowed them to live was far more than he would have hoped for all considering.

Even stranger was that his two daughters were now actively visiting their brother every other weekend or so was... well a bit odd.

"Okay, do you have a few extra pairs of clothes?"

"Yes"

"Shoes?"

"Yes"

"What about..."

"Dad this isn't the first time we have done this, even if we forget something Ichigo has spares. We will be fine."

"I know, I know... I just worry about you two."

The two sisters smiled, before embracing their father in a family hug.

"We know dad, hopefully you will come with us soon... it would be nice to have a _family_ dinner some time..."

The older man smiled, "I would like that too, I just think it is a bit too early for me to see the Quincy all considering... maybe you can talk him into coming here and we can just have pizza at the house?"

Karin smiled, "I think he would like that, plus he is pretty easy to convince."

"Yeah! We got this really awesome ice cream last time!"

Isshin shook his head in exasperation, "yeah yeah, just make sure you are eating _nutritious_ food along with the sweets okay?"

"Alright see you later dad!"

With that the two girls activated a small necklace device, which created a portal and allowed them entry to the Quincy World.

Isshin, in the mean time, let his cheerful smile falter a bit, before going to the phone and calling up Ryuken, hopefully his remaining friend wouldn't be busy and would enjoy some company.

 _***RitL***_

One of the two remaining Quincy still living in the World of the Living gave a deep sigh, life had become so very complicated in such a short time and then... well all of the changes that had occurred had certainly sent his head spinning.

The Shinigami had been defeated, and mostly destroyed. The Quincy had reemerged stronger than ever. The Soul King was dead and a balance that he never knew about restored to existence. But it was more than that, there seemed to have been a restoration of something else as well. He remembered seeing his son for the first time directly after the battle and although the boy had been seriously injured he was not in any sort of life threatening state.

Uryu had greeted him respectfully, but Ryuken could tell that he was disappointed in himself.

Yet the father had chosen to ignore all of this, and pull his son into a fierce hug repeating over and over how much he loved his son and how much he was proud of him.

Once the two had returned home their relationship as father and son had grown tremendously. Currently his son was interning at the hospital to eventually take over his position, hopefully allowing him to step down in the next few years and either retire or take on a much more diminished and easy going role.

Glancing over at his buzzing cell phone the older Quincy noted that Isshin was calling him, probably to see if he had any plans for the evening.

With his son visiting his friend Sado the elder Ishida was, in fact, free.

Picking up the phone the bespectacled man greeted his oldest companion, "Hello Isshin, plans tonight?"

 _***RitL***_

"Master, your sisters are scheduled to arrive in the next few hours."

Ichigo glanced up from the handful of reports he had been reading over. "Ah thank you Nel."

The green haired woman smiled, before turning to leave.

"Nel..."

The former Espada turned back, a curiously look on her face, "yes master?"

"How... are you? Are you okay? Are you happy?"

The woman blinked a few times in confusion, before smiling once more, "Of course master, Harribel and I are very happy."

The orange haired boy nodded, allowing the Arrancar to leave.

Letting out a deep sigh Ichigo allowed his mind to wander back to the past year. After the Shinigami had been allowed to return to the Soul Society most of them had retired to simply promoting peace and helping the inhabitants to rebuild their homes and improve their way of life.

The Seireitei has been converted into a large city, allowing for the inhabitants of the higher numbered Rukongai districts to have immediate housing upon their return to sanity.

Of course many of them had simply opted to reincarnate, no longer wishing to remain with all of the terrible memories and emotions that they had been forced to endure for so long.

Even with the Quincy's intervention there had been quite a lot of starvation and homeless refugees, but even still the populace had banded together with what remained of the Shinigami acting as the police force.

"Was it worth it father? All of the lives sacrificed?"

Although he had been speaking to himself the man in question always seemed to be ready with an answer.

"That is the question that all great leaders must ask themselves my son."

Turning Ichigo glared at the elderly man, "You know I could have done without the paperwork involved in running a nation."

Yhwach chuckled, "which is one of the main reasons I decided on an early _retirement_ my son."

"And of course Jugo just so _happened_ to get his wife pregnant a few days before this happened, meaning that I was the _only_ choice."

The former Quincy king smiled "It is not _my fault_ that you decided to choose Bambietta to impregnate first and that she wanted to wait longer than Joli and Jugo did. You could have chosen Nelliel or Harribel first..."

"Oh yes because that would have gone over well 'sorry my love but I decided to have sex with and impregnate the two Arrancar because I don't want to be king of a nation, hope you understand'. Do you _want_ her to murder me in my sleep?"

The man chuckled, "of course not my son, and you are doing an amazing job thus far at being lord of the Quincy."

Ichigo smiled, before noticing that Bambietta was slowly making her way into the room, her new pregnancy beginning to become obvious at this point.

"Oh, hello lord Yhwach, will you be joining Jugo, Joli, and I for dinner tonight? Ichigo is eating with his sisters."

The dark haired Quincy smiled, before giving her a nod, "that would be lovely yes. I would like to thank you both for keeping an old man in your plans."

Both young adults returned the smile, "you are welcome to join us any time dad, you know that."

"So what were you two talking about?"

Ichigo's eyes widened in fear, while his father developed a mischievous grin of his own. "Oh just the state of the various families, and when Ichigo will be paying more... attention... to his servants."

Bambietta frowned, meanwhile Ichigo had managed to use the slight distraction to his advantage... and flee like a coward.

 _***RitL***_

"Good news Toshiro, the votes finally came in and you were chosen to be the official Mayor of West Rukongai!"

The white haired boy smiled, that meant he had beaten Gin in the other man's quest to become the leader of his respective section, not much of a victory but still one he could rub in the silver haired asshole's face.

"HEY! I know that smirk mister, this _isn't_ a competition between you two..."

"Of course not Momo... not a competition at all..."

"We _are_ having Gin, Rangiku, Rukia, and Renji over for dinner next week, which means that you _are_ going to behave and be nice"

"Of course dear, Byakuya isn't able to join us yet?"

The younger girl frowned and shook her head, no... and Kotetsu is still too caught up in her work getting the new hospitals built to join us."

Hitsugaya's smile dropped as well, they had both become increasingly worried about the former lieutenant and her obsession with staying busy. Sure it was important to keep their minds from the casualties of the war but she had been taking it to the extreme, even her sister had become more and more concerned as the weeks and months passed.

"Perhaps we will need to have an intervention at some point."

The black haired girl nodded, before glancing at the calendar located on their wall once more.

The boy noticed, and smiled at her stare, "we still have six months until the wedding Momo..."

"Oh I wasn't... I mean I didn't..."

He laughed warmly at her embarrassment, they had both been so excited when he had finally gotten the courage up to propose that both had been keeping track of how many days until the ceremony with almost religious zeal.

 _***RitL***_

In the darkest pits sat a man once again bound to a chair, a false throne for a creature that once considered himself all powerful. Now he had nothing. His servants were gone, his nation taken and destroyed, and his powers removed.

Aizen Sosuke sat in contemplation, once more staring in the endless blackness that was his eternal prison.

Where had he gone wrong? How could he have been defeated so easily? The Soul King was dead, he _should have_ been the one to take up the mantle of 'God'. Instead he was denied and cast aside. At least when the Seireitei had done so they had periodically checked up on him, just to ensure his confinement. It had given him an inkling of pride to know that deep down they had feared him enough to continue keeping tabs on his progress.

Now though there was nothing. No monitoring, no monthly checks... nothing but the eternal darkness and silence.

He was immortal, he would never age, nor die. But that didn't matter much without freedom. What was the use in living forever if there was nothing to look forward to?

 _***RitL***_

"Come come Nemu-chan we have much to see oh so much to see!" The Quincy proclaimed excitedly as both the Shinigami and his assistant followed along.

The female allowed her mind to drift back to the past wonderful year that she had been granted. Ever since the war had ended, and she was adopted, the man had been spoiling her with both gifts and affection. She had grown quite fond of the 'hugs' and her new wardrobe contained every color imaginable.

Currently the three were undertaking the best part of her new life, a vacation. Mask had insisted on taking a month long vacation, and had allowed the other two participants to choose what they did. It had taken a few days but eventually they had settled on a hiking and camping trip, much to the older man's glee. They were on their second week thus far, and she had loved every minute of it.

The exercise, being outdoors, seeing nature in all its beauty... it was something she had never been given the chance to experience in her previous life, being locked away in a cold and uncaring laboratory surrounded by technology. Not only that but the Seireitei was a relatively lifeless place, consisting of stone buildings and roads with little greenery.

Now though... it was simply time to relax and recover from the conflict.

"Come come we must make the waterfall by dusk! The way that the setting sun strikes it creates quite a scene!"

"Coming father."

 _***RitL***_

Joli watched on fondly as her husband and adopted daughter played on a swing set, with the blonde man pushing the giggling girl.

Thinking back on everything that happened would always create a sense of awe in the female Sternritter. Not only had the younger girl died, but then she had been brought back to life and adopted almost immediately after the war was over.

Then there had been the wedding, with Ichigo as the 'best man' and Bambietta as the 'maid of honor'. Irmine had happily accepted the position of 'flower girl'.

A month later and her own pregnancy had been confirmed.

Now she was roughly seven months along and the other two had been bonding more than ever. The younger girl had been absolutely thrilled to hear that she would soon have a younger brother or sister and had eagerly taken to aiding in the redecorating of their new home.

Everything was... perfect, and before the war this would have given the Quincy woman a sense of foreboding. It was these times that fate would seem to conspire against her and cause death and destruction, but now...

There were no storm clouds on the horizon, no future wars to take part in, no conflicts that would force her to miss sleep with worrying about the lives of her loved ones.

There was simply peace.

 _***RitL***_

Karin and Yuzu sat happily at a picnic table enjoying the ice cream that their brother had bought them.

"So nii-sama, how is the wedding planning going?"

The boy smiled at the brunette, "It's going well, Bambietta wants to get through the ceremony before she becomes too obviously pregnant to walk down the aisle unaided."

"I still can't believe she asked _us_ to be two of her 'bridesmaids'." Karin noted with a shake of her head. That conversation had shocked both the sisters more than they were willing to admit.

"Well of course she did, she knows how important you are to me. Plus that meant she got to veto having Xaros plan my bachelor party."

"Oh yeah, what was he going to do that got her so worked up anyway?"

"Strippers"

The two girls paused, blinked, and then continued eating their frozen treats.

Ichigo merely chuckled.

"So nii-sama, our dad wants to have you over for dinner sometime." the black haired girl nonchalantly noted, but Yuzu could see the concern in her eyes of being rejected or angering the man.

"Oh? I figured he would eventually. That's fine, I know that he probably wouldn't feel comfortable coming to this world quite yet."

"Yeah... too many bad memories I guess. He wanted to get pizza I think."

"Sounds good to me, as long as he is buying."

The two sisters smirked deviously at their brother's acceptance, not only could they con him into buying them ice cream but now their father owed them pizza as well.

"Could you tell us a story nii-sama?"

"Sure, what would you like to hear about?"

"Everything!" both girls exclaimed at once, before blushing at their outburst. It was Yuzu who continued on though, "what we mean is that... we don't know much about your childhood, what was it like?"

"Well, I suppose it started with the birth of my two sisters, they were both so perfect, and happy, and quiet back then..."

Ignoring the two glares the man continued on, "Then one day when I was walking home with my mother it began raining so hard, and I saw a young girl standing by the water..."

 _***Omake: A Message from our Sponsor***_

"Well everyone we have had a lot of fun these past few months haven't we?"

"We sure have Ichigo-kun," Gin nodded in agreement. "But now we have something _very_ important that we would like to talk to all of you about, something that affects thousands of innocent people every year, and that is..."

"Child abuse"

"Chair related deaths"

Both men stared at each other in confusion.

"Uh Gin... I thought we agreed that we were doing a _serious_ topic for the last Omake, not the silly one that the Author _wanted_ to do."

"And this _is_ a serious topic Ichigo-chan. Do you have any idea how many people die every year due to chairs?"

"No..."

"Neither do I, which implies something evil and devious is afoot!"

The Quincy rolled his eyes, "Gin with everything that has happened in the last two stories, and the events planned for the Author's _next_ two stories I think that..."

"You know I am a bit confused about something Ichigo-dono."

The boy let out a sigh at the changing nicknames but decided to humor the man, "and that is?"

"Well I mean you just said it yourself, the Author tends to pick a character, usually the main one, and give them a God awful childhood full of terrible memories and sometimes physical abuse."

"Yeah... and..."

"Well he has already mentioned potentially _two more_ Bleach stories... starring you..."

Ichigo's eyes widened in horror at the implications.

"So maaaaaybe we should go back to the more fun Omake that he had planned eh?"

Another moment of consideration passed before... "we are here today to talk to you about something very important and dear to my heart... chair related accidents."

The silver haired Shinigami smiled, "wise choice Ichigo-pal".

***A/N***

Well that is the final chapter, I hope everyone enjoyed the story as much as I did! As I mentioned last chapter I do have more Bleach stories planned but not for a while.

Hopefully the last chapter was sufficient for everyone, I always have trouble with the first and last chapters in my stories for some reason.

 **War Enders** (Aka Special War Potentials)

Yhwach

Ichigo

Jugo

Mask

Orlan - _deceased_ -

Genryusai Yamamoto - _deceased_ -

Kisuke Urahara _-deceased-_

Kenpachi Zaraki - _deceased_ -

Orihime - _deceased_ -

The Royal Guard - _deceased-_

Aizen Sosuke

 **Sternritter-Vollstandig-Status:**

A **The Ascension** Ichigo – God's Will

B **The Blade** Jugram – The Sword of God

C **The Contagion** Brune – God's Plague Bearer - _deceased_ -

D **The Domain** Kort – The Kingdom of God

E **The Emotion** Vanda – God's unending Love - _deceased-_

F **The Freedom** Joli – Freedom from God

G **The Golem** Irmine – Holy Union of God

H **The Heat** Bazz-B- God's Holy Flame - _deceased_ -

I **The Impact** Ubel – Warrior of God - _deceased_ -

J **The Juggernaut** Adalgar – The Body of God - _deceased_ -

K **The Key Maker** Orlan – The Path of God _-deceased-_

L **The Legion** Rille – The Army of God

M **The Mirror** Lothar - God's Reflection

N **The Noise** Xaros – My God's Answer

O **The Oracle** Penrod – The Knowledge of God - _deceased_ -

P **The Primal** Keifer – Creation of God

Q **The Quick** – Clovis – God's Chariot - _deceased_ -

R **The Restraint** Lutz – Temperance Before God - _deceased_ -

S **The Shield** Mina – Protection of God

T **The Thunder** Adali – Light of God - _deceased-_

U **The Unseen** Clotilde – The Presence of God - _deceased-_

V **The Volatile** Bambietta -The Wrath of God

W **The Whisper** Erna – The Voice of God - _deceased-_

X **The X-ray** Hanno – God's Vision - _deceased-_

Y **The Yield** Dearg - Humility before God - _deceased_ -

Z **The Zenith** Gerhard – God above all others

 **Deceased Shinigami**

Captain Class:

Komamura

Rose

Shinji

Mayuri

Ukitake

Sui-Feng

Unohana

Kensei

Yamamoto

The Royal Guard

Love

Shunsui

Urahara

Kenpachi

Lieutenant Class:

Izuru

Chojiro

Iba

Hisagi

Yumichika

Ikkaku

Nanao

Omaeda

Hiyori

Tatsuki


End file.
